Harnessing the sun, the wind and the sea with E/S Orcelle

The Irrawaddy dolphin is a strange-looking beast. Round-headed, snub-nosed and a little smaller than a human, the critically endangered marine mammal lives around the coasts and estuaries of the Bay of Bengal, Brunei and Malaysia, and has an endearing habit of helping fishermen out in exchange for some of their catch. But this odd, rare animal is lending its name to an even stranger-looking, but much larger, sea-goer: a zero-emissions, hydrogen-powered concept for a cargo ship designed by Scandinavian shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL).

The E/S Orcelle (the French name for the Irrawaddy dolphin) is a bold concept to explore ways to reduce the environmental impact of cargo shipping, cutting or even eliminating carbon emissions while also tackling other factors associated with ships that are regularly loaded and unloaded in different ports throughout their lifetime. Even its designation is a nod towards a green agenda E/S stands for ’environmentally sound’. Although WWL stresses that Orcelle is a concept, and will likely never be built in its entirety, it intends to use the components of its design to improve future forms of cargo shipping. ’While futuristic in its concept, we believe the E/S Orcelle represents the achievable goal of building an environmentally friendly cargo ship,’ said WWL chief executive, Nils Dyvik. ’We are determined to be at the forefront, along with the World Wildlife Fund, to help and protect marine life on the high seas.’