Our Way 1
MEET THE TEAM CARL FAGERGREN Project Manager Wall
enius Marine ROLE: TO MANAGE THE TOTAL SHIP CONCEPT DESIGN, INCLUDING CUSTOMER DEMANDS, OUTLINE SPECIFICATION AND PREPARATIONS FOR PROCUREMENT. The vision of Truly Sustainable Shipping is a longstanding aim for Wallenius Marine. When I started working at Wallenius Marine, that was my job: to plot the road map and make a plan for how we should proceed. We, in our Ship Design & Newbuilding team, made an inventory of all the new technology and research that was of interest to us, and we saw some potential in wind power. A couple of years ago, many alternative sources of power were out of the question due to their higher cost, but these days consumers are more willing to pay for sustainability. If you look at the road map, we didn´t expect to have come this far in 10 years, but now the time is right. Social trends and attitudes have changed, and there is great commercial potential in exploring the power of wind. Looking further ahead, we will continue to follow our road map quite closely when it comes to fuel like LNG, biofuels and electrofuels, as well as emission-free energy sources. Battery power is high on the agenda at the moment, but today the batteries are far too heavy and expensive for ocean-going vessels. On shorter distances though, they can be a part of a multi-fuel solution. But changes can occur fast and new technology can take a sudden leap in development. Right now, for example, hydrogen is all the rage. My job is to follow and exploit the technical development in these areas and make sure we optimize the propulsion of Oceanbird. After all the years of working with the road map, it’s truly exciting to be so close to the goal. MIKAEL RAZOLA Research Project Manager Wallenius Marine ROLE: TO COORDINATE THE COLLECTIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AT WALLENIUS MARINE, SSPA AND KTH. From the start we have tried to combine the commercial incentives with a scientific approach to the development of Oceanbird. The result is clear proof of what can happen when the collaboration really does work, and we have seen some amazing exchanges of knowledge within the project. Working closely with the Swedish-based maritime knowledge company SSPA and KTH Royal Institute of Technology has given us access to top-level expertise in areas such as testing methodology, hydrodynamics, aerodynamics and logistics. At Wallenius Marine, we provide the marketrelated insights and the necessary operational know-how to give this project credibility. When designing Oceanbird we have used long-established knowledge of sailing and built from that, really focusing on the power of the wind. It´s not as simple as ‘putting wing sails’ on an ordinary ship. The design of the hull is just as important, since the vessel as a system must be considered here more carefully than ever. Since 2019, the Swedish Transport Administration has been a very important stakeholder. Their financial support really made Oceanbird possible. When they increased their support in July 2020, it wasn´t just a big deal financially, it also showed us that they really believe in us as a group and made us feel that we are really delivering something of value. They, like us, really believe Oceanbird to be the future. OUR WAY 11