Socatra reduces fuel consumption and emissions of Alcyone

Syroco's weather routing platform amplifies the performance gains provided by Rotor Sails and accurately measures their impact.

Bordeaux, Assises de l'Économie de la Mer, 19 November 2024 - Socatra, a leading provider of oil shipping services, and Syroco, the Climate Tech startup that supports the energy transition of maritime transportation, unveiled today performance data obtained from the first months of deployment of Syroco's travel optimisation solution on M/T Alcyone.

Armed by Socatra and chartered by TotalEnergies, Alcyone is a 183-metre tanker sailing under French flag and operating on transpacific routes. Built in 2022, the ship was equipped at the beginning of 2024 with two Rotor Sails from manufacturer Norsepower. Concomitantly with this installation of wind propulsion assistance, the shipowner and charterer deployed Syroco to help crews optimise routes and vessel operational parameters based on weather conditions, maximising the performance of wind assistance.

Amplification of the effectiveness of wind propulsion

Hector Firino Martell, Fleet Manager of Socatra, said: “The use of Rotor Sails introduces complexity into voyage definition. The routing of Alcyone involves advanced calculations in order to make the most of the wind while taking into account waves, swell and currents. The Syroco platform, thanks to its high fidelity digital twins and its simulation power, enables the crew to take advantage of the weather conditions, amplifying the efficiency of the propulsion systems.”

Beyond the real-time routing provided to crews, the Syroco platform provides accurate data on the performance gains produced respectively by the use of the wind assistance and by adhesion to an optimised route. This data, which varies from one voyage to another, makes it possible to evaluate the impact of these technologies in a global and objective manner and to calculate their return on investment.

Up to 21% aggregate gains

In detail, the calculation of consumption gains, provided by the Syroco platform, indicates the following results(*):

Gains produced by the effects of wind assistance: between 4% and 18%.
Gains produced by the use of Syroco weather routing: between 3% and 18%.
Aggregate gains (combination of the effects of wind assistance and the use of weather routing): between 5% and 21%.

Furthermore, compared to the vessel's previous operating periods, the shipowner was able to measure a reduction in fuel consumption of 50 tonnes per month on average. On a full year basis, this reduction translates into 1,800 tonnes of CO2 avoided per year.

Sébastien Roche, General Manager Shipping Performance and Innovation at TotalEnergies, confirmed: “At TotalEnergies, we are proud to collaborate with Socatra and Syroco to promote innovative and sustainable solutions for maritime transportation. The integration of the Rotor Sails and of the Syroco weather routing platform on Alcyone demonstrates our commitment to reducing emissions and improving the energy efficiency of our operations. We thank all the teams involved for their commitment, these promising results underline the importance of digital tools and strengthen our determination to continue on this path."

Alex Caizergues, President and Co-founder of Syroco, added: “These first months of using the Syroco platform on Alcyone have been very positive. We saw strong adoption of the solution by crews, and excellent adhesion to routing recommendations. We are proud to see that this use generates measurable and significant gains. The results presented today confirm the commitment of TotalEnergies, Socatra and the crew to more sustainable maritime transportation.”

(*) Note on gains calculation

Gains produced by the use of Syroco weather routing: difference between the consumption of the vessel equipped with Rotor Sails, (1) with Syroco routing, and (2) without routing.
Gains produced by the effects of wind assistance: difference between the consumption of (1) the vessel equipped with Rotor Sails, and (2) the vessel not equipped with Rotor Sails (using routing).
Aggregate gains: difference between the consumption of (1) the vessel equipped with Rotor Sails and using Syroco routing, and (2) the vessel not equipped with Rotor Sails and not using routing.
The savings calculations above use reanalysed weather (hindcast) for consistency of calculations. The savings do not add up, and their relative importance varies depending on the weather conditions encountered.
The calculations and measurements were carried out over 9 voyages between May and October 2024.