LDA Ventures into Wind-Powered Shipping

French family-owned maritime transportation group Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) is venturing into wind-powered shipping as the group sees the benefits of operational savings and a need for decarbonisation.

LDA Group has become the latest member of the International Windship Association (IWSA) to help further the development of these primary renewable solutions.

LDA President, Edouard Louis-Dreyfus, stated: "we are very excited by the development of wind solutions as a key answer to the decarbonisation challenges we are facing today and it is only natural for us to join the International Windship Association in its drive to further develop these technologies."

LDA Group owns, charters and operates over 100 vessels worldwide and has been searching for ways to significantly reduce emissions along with their customer Airbus.

The positive results garnered from the testing of the Airseas kite system has led to the decision to have one permanently fitted on board the 21,500 ton MV Ville de Bordeaux from 2020 onwards, this RoRo cargo vessel is dedicated to the transport of Airbus parts around Europe.

Also, in early 2019 LDA initiated the design of a large transoceanic RoRo vessel with full integration of wind assisted propulsion and plans to continue development work in this field.

"We are delighted to welcome the Louis Dreyfus Armateurs group to the IWSA, LDA are a major player in the shipping industry with over 165 years experience and a really forward-thinking approach to decarbonisation," stated Gavin Allwright, IWSA Secretary General.

He added: "Wind-assist and primary wind propulsion is increasingly being viewed as a credible, viable and economic option and we look forward to working with the LDA team to further the uptake of 21st century wind propulsion solutions for the commercial fleet."

The International Windship Association is a member driven not-for-profit association with over 100 members and registered supporters worldwide and works with the industry, policy makers and regulators to further innovation, development and market uptake of wind propulsion for commercial shipping.

"As the shipping industries attention increasingly turns towards decarbonisation, we are seeing the debate around alternative fuels grow and the challenge of bringing those to market. Wind assist and primary wind propulsion offers a way to significantly reduce the amount of power required by vessels on many routes, so we are likely to see more and more shipping companies looking at these technologies in the future," said the company.