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Using idle time sustainably: "Manila Express" navigates with wind and current

Captain Rössler and his crew shared an interesting nautical manoeuvre with us showing that climate protection starts on a small scale. Following situation: The "Manila Express" was on its way from Algeciras to Singapore, a journey of 10,856 nautical miles. The planned arrival in Singapore on 1 June 2024 had to be postponed as the port was congested and the berth only became available on 7 June.

Captain Peter Rössler and his team were faced with three options:

  1. continue at an economical speed and anchor off Singapore for six days.
  2. drift for several days and then arrive on time.
  3. reduce speed to such an extent that the “Manila Express” would arrive exactly on 7 June.

Technically and nautically, option 3 was not possible. After discussion within the team, the “Manila Express” captain and his team decided in favour of option 2.

The realization:

The "Manila Express" drifted in a safe position towards the Malacca Strait without generating any emssions.
Peter Rössler, Master

"We had to find a safe position for drifting. With the help of current and weather charts, I looked for an area with favorable conditions. The current should drive us towards the Malacca Strait. On 30 May at 08:30 we reached our drift position at 02°10‘N / 090°09’E."

The result: 6 days without generating any emissions

Over the next six days, the vessel drifted 249 nautical miles (462 km) with an average speed of 1.7kn/ 3.1 km/h north-east hardly without generating emissions. On 5 June the “Manila Express” continued its journey LNG-powered, arriving in Singapore on time on 7 June.

Peter Rössler, Master

"Thanks to the optimal utilisation of wind and current, we were able to make a significant contribution to climate protection and significantly reduce the ecological footprint of the "Manila Express"."

"Manila Express"

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