South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has put its new fuel saving propeller attachment device into service on a LNG carrier, allowing the ship to reap fuel savings of up to 2.5%.

The fuel saving propeller attachment device, named Hi-FIN, is an attachment to the hub of the propeller, allowing it to generate countering swirls to offset the swirls created by the propeller itself, and thus improves propulsion efficiency.

The energy-saving device has been installed on the 162,000 cu m LNG carrier ordered by Maran Gas, and fuel saving of up to 2.5% is expected compared to the same type of vessels without the Hi-FIN.

“If the fuel saving ratio is calculated on the basis of an 8,600 teu containership, the owners or operators of the containership can save about $750,000 per year or $19m for 25 years, an estimated lifetime of the ship,” HHI said.

HHI has won orders of Hi-FIN for over 30 ships to date, and it expects more orders on ships including VLCCs, LPG carriers and containerships.