RINA has awarded an Approval in Principle (AiP) for Blue Wasp Marine’s Pelican performance prediction software for wind-assisted ships.
With this, Pelican has become the first software of its kind to have received class recognition.
Pelican, the product of over 10 years of PhD research, is able to simulate the performance of a ship equipped with wind propulsion technologies using specific wind conditions and sea states. Pelican features a built-in force module for both aero- and hydrodynamics. With this, reliable performance predictions can be rapidly obtained without recourse to costly CFD or model testing.
The software draws on a large database of wind propulsion systems comprising Flettner rotors, wing sails, turbo sails and kite sails. Combining this with a dataset of over 1,500 simulation results of 60 hull variants, representing a broad range of commercial vessel types, Pelican informs investment and design-related decision making with regards to installation of wind assisted propulsion. It can also be used to generate dedicated vessel models for weather routing and voyage optimisation applications.
The software was developed by Blue Wasp Marine, a team of marine engineers with a shared passion for both sailing and green technology. The company was founded in 2021.
Gavin Allwright of the International Windship Association said, “The well-deserved recognition of the Pelican performance prediction software is great news for both Blue Wasp Marine, and I am sure it will be welcomed by the shipping industry as a whole. Wind propulsion has the capability to contribute significantly to a reduction in maritime emissions. This AiP represents another important step towards the realisation of this potential.”