Vaisala has announced its participation in the latest Wind-Assisted Ship Propulsion (WiSP 3) project, a joint industry collaboration initiated by the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) to advance wind-assisted shipping as a solution for reducing emissions and improving fuel efficiency in the maritime industry. Vaisala will provide its wind lidar systems for sea trials to test and validate wind-assisted ship propulsion technologies.
By comparing undisturbed wind data from the lidar instrument with wind anemometer-based measurements, researchers and wind-assisted ship propulsion (WASP) system providers can determine optimal wind propulsion algorithms, ensuring peak performance and enhanced energy efficiency of the systems. Additionally, WiSP 3 will research the impact of unsteady weather conditions on the performance of wind propulsion systems to better understand the development needs for an automated safety release mechanism. The aim is to enhance the safety of WASP technologies by enabling safety releases in response to high winds or wind shear events.
WiSP 3, running until April 2026, brings together 32 partners. Confirmed participants beyond Vaisala include ABS, Alfa Wall Oceanbird AB, Anemoi, Blue Wasp, Bound4Blue, Carnival Maritime, CMA CGM, Cosco Shipping, CMHK, CWS Morel, Finocean Ltd., Indian Register of Shipping (IR Class), International Windship Association (IWSA), Lloyd’s Register, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs SAS (LDA), MARIN, Marshall Islands Registry, Mauric, MTI Co. Ltd., Norsepower, Petrobras, Union Maritime, and Vicusdt.
