Sustainability

Sustainability: Motor Yacht Builders – Sunseeker

News, Sustainability / By yachtstyle2020

Sustainability: Motor Yacht Builders – Sunseeker

February 10, 2021
4:05 pm

The Poole shipyard has worked with MTU to develop hybrid propulsion for its 42M and 50M Ocean models, with Van Oossanen developing the world’s most efficient Fast Displacement Hull Form for the larger superyacht.

Graphic of the MTU hybrid system for Sunseeker

Sunseeker has collaborated with Rolls-Royce to offer MTU’s first series-production hybrid propulsion system on its two largest Superyacht designs, the 50M Ocean and 42M Ocean, which are among the shipyard’s new generation of superyachts.

MTU’s integrated hybrid system for the 50M Ocean includes onboard generators, electric propulsion modules, transmission system, batteries, and control and monitoring systems, and can be expanded

on a modular basis. It offers six operating modes from all-electric for silent, emission-free cruising, through to use of the twin 12-cylinder MTU Series 2000 diesel engines.

Modes include the automated ‘smart hybrid’ and ‘charge hybrid’ that enable all power sources to be used as required. In ‘electric’, propulsion and on-board power can be supplied by the generators, optimising fuel consumption and comfort for long and overnight passages up to 10.2 knots. ‘Silent’ uses power solely from the batteries, offering nearly three hours of propulsion or seven hours of on board power in silent anchoring mode, with no emissions.

Van Oossanen has designed a Fast Displacement Hull Form for the 50M Ocean

Sunseeker and MTU UK – which have worked together for two decades – laid the basis for the hybrid propulsion system back in 2010, with tests carried out on a prototype yacht. Sales Director Sean Robertson, who has worked Sunseeker since 1986, says: “The way owners are using their boats continues to evolve. Efficiency and noise reduction are now as important as features and volume.”

For the 50M Ocean, which will be built in metal by ICON Yachts, the yard worked with Van Oossanen Naval Architects on an innovative Fast Displacement Hull Form (FDHF). The hybrid hull’s slenderness and special form produces a very low wave profile over the full speed range and was ranked by the Wolfson Unit as the most efficient in its database, a lofty accolade considering the UK-based firm has carried out towing tank tests on about 1,200 hull forms since 1968.

Sunseeker says the FDHF concept improves the efficiency of a vessel by 15-20 per cent compared to conventional displacement and semi-displacement hull forms, representing a significant reduction in consumption, emissions and operating costs.

The 50M Ocean is also offered with Hull Vane technology

The FDHF is also offered with Hull Vane® technology. Positioned below the stern, the patented fixed-foil, fuel-saving device influences the stern wave pattern, creating a forward-orientated lifting force that lowers the pitch motion and running trim. The combined effect of the FDHF fitted with the Hull Vane reduces fuel consumption by up to 30 per cent in total, according to Sunseeker.

Furthermore, the yard has been working with technical partners to ensure solutions are in place to implement selective catalytic reduction (SCR) on its larger superyachts to drastically reduce harmful emissions.

However, the bulk of Sunseeker’s production is across its Manhattan (52-68), Predator (50-74), Sport Yacht (65-74) and Yacht (76-100) ranges, and although its history is steeped in fast, high-performance boats, there’s increasing demand for efficiency and other factors from new owners.

Sunseeker’s new models include the Manhattan 68

Douglas Culverwell, Sunseeker’s Regional Business Manager for Asia, says: “Sunseeker has always offered a diverse product range, both in type – compare the Predator and Yacht lines, for instance – and performance. However, performance is increasingly being used to describe attributes other than speed and agility. Now, quietness, lack of vibration, fuel economy and reduced emissions are also a measure of performance.”

Its hull designs vary between model ranges, from out-and-out dynamic performance – witness the 62-knot Hawk 38 unleashed in 2019 – to long-range cruising and everything in-between.

“Hull design is of paramount importance to us and over the decades we’ve developed and refined an easily driven, soft-riding, deep-V hull design,” Culverwell said. “In certain models, this is optimised to offer lower resistance at lower cruising speeds, while other models focus on higher planing speeds.

“However, Sunseeker has also designed and developed semi-displacement and displacement hull forms that offer even greater endurance and efficiency with less power than their smaller stablemates. The 42M Ocean and 50M Ocean were designed with this firmly in mind.”
www.sunseeker.com
Note: This article first appeared in Yacht Style Issue 57

Sunseeker to launch five models in January
Poole shipyard is busy completing five new models, from the Manhattan 55 to the pioneering 90 Ocean.

Sustainability: Motor Yacht Builders – Azimut-Benetti

News, Sustainability / By yachtstyle2020

Sustainability: Motor Yacht Builders – Azimut-Benetti

February 4, 2021
6:30 am

Azimut-Benetti Group’s innovations include a 107m hybrid gigayacht, E-Mode propulsion, a displacement-to-planing hull and BCool engineering.

Luminosity, Benetti’s 107m hybrid gigayacht

Azimut-Benetti remains a world leader in luxury motor yacht production and heads the 2021 Global Order Book for 24m-plus yachts, the 21st successive year it has led the builder standings. Azimut itself builds from 34ft up to 125ft due to its new 38m Grande Trideck, while Benetti’s range of models extend from the Delfino 95 (29m) to over 350ft following the launch of three gigayachts, each 107m or 108m, in recent years.

The ‘biggest’ example of the Group’s eco-friendly efforts is Benetti’s 107.6m Luminosity, described as the largest hybrid yacht built to date. The generation/propulsion package features six generators of about 1,000kW each.

Luminosity has two Azipods with electric motors

The electricity produced by the generators is managed electronically by a fully integrated power management system to feed the consumption of the services on board and the electric motors of two Azipods of 2,200kW each. The spare electricity is also used to charge 36 tonnes of batteries which are sufficient to run the vessel for 12 hours without generator power, a huge convenience when at anchor with no shore power.

Benetti’s Technical Department worked on the state-of-the-art propulsion package with the likes of Caterpillar, Seastema and ABB. Another advantage of the system is silent, vibration-free navigation, meaning “guests sometimes fail to realise they’re underway”.

Benetti’s upcoming B.Yond 37M features E-Mode propulsion

Benetti’s new models in 2021 include the B.Yond 37M, the first in a new category of expedition yachts that features E-Mode propulsion architecture developed for the shipyard by Siemens.

Designed for long cruising with reduced environmental impact, the diesel-electric propulsion system operates in four different configurations: Enhanced Comfort, ideal for night and coastal cruising with no emissions; Eco Cruise or Hotel mode, for zero-emissions while cruising or at anchor; Extended Range, to reduce consumption on very long trips; and Eco Transfer, for navigation with only one engine driving both shafts to reduce engine hours and improve performance.

Azimut’s new Magellano 25 Metri features a ‘D2P’ hull

The Group’s eco-friendly design work includes the D2P® (Displacement to Planing) hull that features on Azimut’s new Magellano 25 Metri and the Grande Trideck, the company’s new 38m flagship. In collaboration with Pierluigi Ausonio Naval Architecture, the Group’s studies of hull shapes led to the D2P® hull, which combines the advantages of a displacement hull with reduced fuel consumption at low speeds and in planing mode at higher speeds.

The new Magellano flagship is also the Group’s first model equipped with BCool engineering, a Marine Mechanical Ventilation System (MMVS) based on a NASA patent and originally developed for use on aerospace missions to sanitise the air on board. The system imitates and reproduces the process that takes place in nature, exploiting the combined action of the rays produced by a special UV lamp and a catalytic structure, without affecting the yacht’s power and consumption.

BCool engineering makes its yachting debut on the Magellano 25 Metri

Marco Valle, CEO of Azimut-Benetti Group, said: “Azimut-Benetti works to employ technology that strives for eco-friendliness and to improve the quality and comfort of the cruising experience. This commitment is appreciated by our yacht owners and industry professionals.”

The Group’s eco-friendly efforts are also reflected in its supply-chain control, the decision not to use any biocidal antifouling products, and the choice of sustainable materials with reduced ecological impact such as the foams developed by the Nanocore project, FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)-certified wood or synthetic and 100 per cent recyclable, environmentally friendly water and gelcoat glues.
www.azimutyachts.com
www.benettiyachts.it

Marco Valle: Pole Position
After well over two decades with Azimut Yachts, Marco Valle is settling into his new role as CEO of Azimut-Benetti Group, overseeing motor yacht models ranging from 34ft-354ft and a family-owned dynasty that has topped the Global Order Book for 21 straight years.

Sustainability: Motor Yacht Builders – Ferretti Group

News, Sustainability / By yachtstyle2020

Sustainability: Motor Yacht Builders – Ferretti Group

January 25, 2021
5:44 pm

Yacht Style’s Sustainability series switches to Ferretti Group, whose CRN megayacht Voice was the first in Italy to be IMO Tier III compliant, representing a 70 per cent reduction in harmful NOx emissions.

CRN’s 62m Voice is Italy’s first IMO Tier III-compliant megayacht

Ferretti Group’s sustainability efforts were highlighted last year when CRN’s 62m Voice, delivered to her owner in July 2020, was the first megayacht built in Italy to receive IMO Tier III certification. Compliance was achieved by fitting the engine exhausts with the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) auxiliary system, which uses a chemical process to slash harmful emissions.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the United Nations’ specialised agency responsible for improving maritime safety and preventing pollution from ships, and Tier III represents a 70 per cent reduction in harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions compared to Tier II standards.

CRN builds the Group’s biggest yachts in steel and aluminium, and all its subsequent megayachts – including the 62m M/Y 138, 72m M/Y 139 and 60m M/Y 141 – will also be IMO Tier III-compliant.

All CRN yachts are built at the Ferretti Group’s 80,000sqm facility in the east-coast city of Ancona, the biggest of the conglomerate’s six shipyards across Italy and home to its Superyacht Division, which also builds Custom Line models and the likes of the Riva 50Metri and Pershing 140.

As well as CRN, Custom Line, Riva and Pershing, the Group’s eight luxury yacht brands include Ferretti Yachts, Itama, Mochi Craft and Wally, the latter’s acquisition announced in January 2019.

The first Custom Line Navetta 30 will arrive in Hong Kong in spring

The Group’s efforts to reduce emissions among its smaller models include its Zero Emission Mode (ZEM) Hybrid Propulsion solution. The system operates in five modes: diesel propulsion and energy storing, diesel-electric, ZEM propulsion, ZEM function and plug-in for stays in port.

In ZEM propulsion, the propellers are powered by the electric motors, disengaged from the diesel and operated exclusively by the propulsion battery pack, providing silent, zero-emission operation. In ZEM function, all the on-board utilities – including air-conditioning, boiler and ARG – are powered by the propulsion battery pack, enabling the boat to function in silence and with zero emissions.

The Group is also increasingly working with carbon-fibre to significantly lighten its yachts, a key factor in creating fuel efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Alberto Galassi, CEO of Ferretti Group, says: “We are always exploring solutions to mitigate the environmental impact of our products including new technologies to reduce the weight of hulls and research into hybrid engines.”

The Group’s environmental efforts include selecting eco-responsible materials for its yachts. In furnishings and fittings, this includes selecting certified wood from responsibly managed forests.

“We focus on wood from certified forests, managed correctly and responsibly according to the strictest environmental, social and economic standards,” Galassi says. “The natural ecosystem functions of forests – fundamental in offsetting the effects of climate change – are therefore not altered.”

Ferretti Group’s La Spezia shipyard earned ISO 14001 certification

As well as reducing energy consumption and lowering emissions in its yachts, the Group is also working to reduce emissions in the build process. Its 60,000sqm La Spezia shipyard on the west coast has earned ISO 14001 certification from the ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) for its environmental management system.

“We are also working on the environmental impacts related to processes, so are implementing measures to increase efficiency and optimise work at our shipyards,” Galassi says. “In this area, the ISO 14001 certification for the La Spezia site is the starting point for integrated management of the environmental impacts of all our production processes.”

The Group has also obtained the RINA Biosafety Trust Certification, the first voluntary certification for the prevention and control of infection.
www.ferrettigroup.com

Ferretti Group publishes sustainability report
Ferretti Group, which builds luxury yachts under eight brands across six shipyards in Italy, has formalised its corporate responsibility process.