In collaboration with See’Up, Technical, economic and financial studies for the implementation of a towing assistance service at Bastia’s commercial port.

Since May 2021, a decree has imposed the closure of the port if an average wind speed of between 30 and 45 knots is recorded (depending on wind components). This measure follows the grounding of the Corsica Linea ship Paglia Orba in January 2021, on the shoal at the entrance to the port.

In order to prevent such an accident from happening again, the Corsican Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in its capacity as concession holder and operator, has launched a public tender to study the conditions for implementing a port-of-call assistance service at Bastia’s commercial port.

In March 2020, Port Atlantique La Rochelle (PALR) validated its strategic project for 2020-2024, which is part of the trajectory “towards a Zero Emission Port”.

It is in this international, national and local context that the Port of La Rochelle has decided to launch a study for the “Study of the potential for reducing GHG emissions for homeport and stopover ships”.

The aim of this strategic and potential study is to achieve decarbonization through greater ship sobriety and propulsion using different energy vectors, in particular electricity and hydrogen from renewable sources.

The mission’s main objective was to guide the Port and local shipowners (pilots, tugs, slipways, sanders, etc.) along the path of decarbonizing ships towards the goal of a “Zero Emission Port”.

Nicknamed the “Toyota Hilux of the seas”, CERULEAN is a line of simple, robust and sober cargo sailboats designed to transport materials and essential products between the islands of the South Pacific.

The sailing ship is a cargo ship that can be loaded and unloaded autonomously thanks to its hydraulic crane on deck, and its rigging has been adapted to maneuver large areas of sails with a reduced crew.

To ensure a minimum service speed of 8 knots, in addition to the wind propulsion provided by the 680 m2 of sails, the ship is equipped with a diesel propulsion engine. The latter will also recharge batteries to provide electrical power during navigation under sail and at berth.

For this CERULEAN cargo sailboat project (launch year 2022), whose architecture is designed by VPLP Design, Alwena shipping carried out in 2021 the study, optimization and validation of the propulsion, electrical generation and energy storage systems on board the vessel.