Wind propulsion for the working fleet

The wind built global trade. It can carry it again.

A triple-wing rigid wing sail light enough for the bulk carriers and tankers already at sea. Engineered in Britain. Built in Batam by ShapeShift.

Model your vessel Become a launch partner
  • DNV Approval in Principle
  • 30+ granted patents
  • ~150 t per rig

The problem was never the wind. It was the sail.

For three thousand years ships crossed oceans on the wind. Then we traded the wind for oil, and for a century it made sense.

It doesn't any more. Fuel is the largest cost a shipowner carries, and every tonne burned now carries a carbon bill as well. The wind is still out there, free, on every route the fleet already sails.

Most wind systems are heavy enough to need new decks or new ships, which leaves out the vessels that move most of the world's cargo. We think that's backwards. The ships doing the hardest work deserve the wind first.

New to wind-assisted propulsion? Read our guide for shipowners.

We believe the wind that built global trade should carry it again. Not on a handful of showcase ships, but across the working fleet.

Why Windship exists

The Windship rig on a Panamax, in four steps

  1. 01

    Built for the deck you have.

    Four rigs stand between the hatches of an 80,000 DWT Panamax. At around 150 tonnes each, they are designed to keep structural work on that deck to a minimum.

  2. 02

    Three wings. One spar.

    Each wing pairs a rigid leading section with a trailing flap. The spar turns all three to the wind as one.

  3. 03

    It sails itself.

    The rig reads the apparent wind, sets its angle and trims its flaps. The bridge chooses the mode. The crew keeps its watch.

  4. 04

    Up to 49% less fuel.

    Modelled for four rigs on a Panamax at 12 knots. Your routes decide your number.

    Model your vessel

Four decisions that fit the wind to a working ship.

A Windship rig on a bulk carrier: three separate white wings with orange trailing flaps, joined by a spreader truss on a single pedestal.
Rig height
36 m
Weight per rig
~150 t
Design life
25+ years
Rendering of the Windship rig on a bulk carrier.

  • Light enough for the ships you already own

    About 150 tonnes per rig, designed to keep structural work on bulker and tanker decks to a minimum. Your cargo stays aboard.

  • Engineered for lift

    Three wings stand side by side on one rotating spar. Each trails an orange flap that angles to add lift, so the rig pulls more power from the same breeze.

  • Built by makers

    ShapeShift has built precision composites for 25 years in a 20,000 m² ISO 9001 factory, 20 km from Singapore.

  • Proven before promised

    DNV Approval in Principle. Wolfson Unit wind tunnel testing. Lloyd's Register CFD. 30+ granted patents.

Put the rigs on a Panamax.

Fit one, two or four rigs to an 80,000 DWT Panamax at 12 knots and see what the model says. Then run your own ship.

Profile and plan of a Panamax bulk carrier showing where Windship rigs stand between the hatch covers
Profile and plan, 80,000 DWT Panamax bulk carrier. Illustrative, not to scale.LOA approx. 225 m · Beam 32.2 m · Rig height 36 m
Rigs fitted
Modelled fuel saving
49.0%
CO₂ avoided per year
13,073 t
Fuel and carbon saved per year
~USD 3.98m
System price
USD 15.2m
Payback
3.82 years

Four rigs, the full system. Modelled for a reference vessel with EU carbon costs; VLSFO USD 838.50/t Singapore, April 2026; USD 3.8m per rig. Route, speed and weather decide your number.

Run your own vessel

Proven before promised.

Shipowners have been sold a lot of green promises. We'd rather show our working.

  • DNVApproval in Principle for the triple-wing design6 Sep 2021
  • Wolfson UnitWind tunnel testing, University of SouthamptonCompleted
  • Cape Horn EngineeringAerodynamic performance optimisationCompleted
  • Lloyd's RegisterComputational fluid dynamics analysisCompleted
  • PatentsGranted in Europe, the US, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Australia and more30+ to 2033

“This is not an unreasonable projection provided appropriate operational routes using optimal routing are adopted and at ships speeds below 12 knots.”

Wolfson Unit conclusions, on Windship's projection of about 30% annual savings for a rigged bulker or tanker

The rig has not yet sailed on a commercial vessel. That's the next step, and we want to take it with a launch partner.

See the evidence
Rendering

We're looking for the first fleet.

Every technology that changed shipping had a first owner willing to prove it at sea. We're looking for ours: an owner or operator who shares our belief and wants their vessels to be the ones the rest of the industry studies.

Launch partners shape the rig for their vessel class, get priority build slots and preferred pricing, and share in what comes next.

Become a launch partner Why we build Windship