NAPA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) to jointly analyse the real-world performance of vessels fitted with wind-assisted propulsion.
The agreement comes as shipowners face mounting pressure to validate efficiency claims before committing to costly newbuilds.
The partnership centres on SHI’s SAVER Wing, a rigid two-element wing sail that converts wind energy into forward thrust using aerodynamic principles drawn from aircraft design, cutting the engine power needed for propulsion and lowering fuel consumption and emissions.
Using actual operational data, the companies aim to model vessel performance against specific voyage and weather conditions, giving shipowners more accurate efficiency projections than standard design-stage estimates and earlier insight for decarbonisation planning.
The MoU also covers plans to integrate NAPA Voyage Optimization, a decision-support tool for route and speed planning, into SHI’s Samsung Autonomous Ship (SAS) platform, allowing crews to dynamically adjust course to exploit favourable wind conditions and maximise fuel savings.
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SHI further intends to use NAPA’s Operational Simulation tool to build digital twins of ship equipment and verify efficiency from the earliest design stage.
The agreement builds on a joint project between the two companies launched in May 2026, focused on SAVER Wing designs, which has now formed the basis for a broader, multi-year collaboration.
Hyun Joe Kim, Executive Vice President, Samsung Heavy Industries, said: “Our customers are under more pressure than at any point in my career. They need vessels that will remain competitive and compliant for the next 25 years, and they need confidence in the efficiency data before they sign the contract.
“Being able to model a specific design against real operating conditions, early in the process, is a genuine advantage. We chose NAPA because they have the tools, design expertise and data legacy to do this well.”
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Pekka Pakkanen, Executive Vice President, Shipping Solutions, NAPA, stated: “Shipowners are being asked to make multi-million, multi-year capital commitments without enough information on what this investment actually looks like. With this partnership, SHI will be able to answer shipowners’ questions and show exactly how their SAVER Wing solution will perform at sea.
“NAPA has done a lot of work in quantifying and modelling the benefits of combining voyage optimization with wind-assisted propulsion. What we are doing differently with SHI is outlining those benefits much earlier at the design stage.”
For more information:
NAPA – https://www.napa.fi/
