FPSO Will Validate Wind-Assisted Kite Traction Towing on Trip to Suriname
A novel project looks to validate the potential of kite sails for vessels as part of a towing operation to position a massive new FPSO during its trip from China to Suriname in South America. SBM Offshore and Technip Energies Joint Venture (STS JV) and TotalEnergies EP Suriname signed an agreement with France’s Beyond the Sea to develop, install, test, and operate a Wind Assisted Towing System (WATS) on the GranMorgu FPSO.
Being constructed by SBM Offshore with topsides designed by Technip Energies, the GranMorgu will be Suriname’s first large-scale deep offshore oil development. The vessel, which will store roughly 1.6 million barrels of oil and handle 500 million cubic feet of associated gas per day, is due to be positioned by 2028 nearly 100 miles off the coast and operated by TotalEnergies. The FPSO unit will have an overall length of approximately 275 meters (902 feet).
Beyond the Sea will develop its SeaKite 2400 system for the application. The operators are looking to reduce towing duration and fuel consumption by implementing a kite traction system during the towing of the FPSO from the construction site in China to its final destination in Suriname. The tow will also serve as a case to validate this technology for large-scale vessels.
The project will be delivered through a phased R&D approach, covering technology development and qualification, costs, and operational readiness, as well as an intensive onshore test program before integration on the FPSO in China. Other objectives are to validate the kite’s wing launching and recovery system, as well as to collect data for the system sizing optimization using digital modelling during a potential 9,000 nautical mile journey.
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Several companies have been exploring the concept of kite sails as another form of wind-assisted propulsion. While rigid sails and aerofolios or rotors have been the most talked about examples, other efforts have looked at the sails. One version was tested on Ro-Ro cargo ships for Airbus, and Japan’s Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (“K” LINE) is developing its Seawing Automated Kit System as a system to deploy on the company’s large bulkers.
Founder of Beyond the Sea, Yves Parlier, called the FPSO project an important step in the development of their technology, and in a particularly demanding offshore environment. He said the collaboration would enable the company to take a new step in the traction capacity of its systems and to measure their concrete impact in the service of maritime decarbonization.
