The Rise of Windshields in the Shipping Industry

Nose jobs are this year’s must-have among cash-rich liners. Evergreen and Pacific International Lines (PIL) are the latest two carriers to add windshields to the prows of containerships under construction in Asia with Alphaliner carrying images of the new ships sporting their fuel-saving devices.

Ocean Network Express (ONE) and CMA CGM were the first liners to readopt windshields, latterly followed by Mediterranean Shipping Co, and then Hapag-Lloyd.

Norasia, a containerline that was eventually bought by CSAV, and then folded into Hapag-Lloyd, featured smaller bow shields in a series of ships built around 20 years ago.

“These devices will reduce the ships’ aerodynamic resistance and thus help lower the fuel consumption and emissions. While the effect of wind deflectors is small at around 2%, little improvements on hull, propeller, engine, etc. add up to notable savings,” Alphaliner noted recently.

“Despite their rather limited energy-saving potential, bow windscreens have become a popular option for newbuildings and retrofits,” Alphaliner stated. “This is because they are low-hanging fruit when it comes to emissions reductions and they require virtually no extra maintenance once installed.”