Sea change needed if ferry travel to be kinder to the planet

Olympic sailing hero to build ‘underwater plane’ in Belfast

A DOUBLE Olympic gold medallist is skippering a bid to make the UK a world leader in zero-emissions passenger ferries.

Sailing champ Iain Percy is combining his knowledge from designing America’s Cup racing yachts with expertise from the maritime, aerospace and F1 racing industries to build a “plane underwater”. The 43-year-old, from Southampton, has chosen Belfast as the location for the eco-friendly hydrofoil technology. With Bombardier’s wing-manufacturing plant adjacent to the expansive shipyards, Iain said it is the perfect location to combine both industries. He added: “We are effectively a wing in the water, so we’re a perfect marriage of those two industries and Belfast is uniquely placed to world lead in what’s going to be transformative technology. “We believe from here there can be a huge export-led business that can make a real difference to emissions globally.” Iain is vying for a £30million Government grant to part-fund a £60million research and development project.

The green-energy ferries will use the same hydrofoil technology that has transformed America’s Cup sailing. They will have hydrofoil “wings” under the surface that are attached to the hull. Much like a plane taking off on a runway, they drive the hull up and out of the water as the vessel picks up speed. That enables the craft to travel with its entire hull raised above the waves, therefore, reducing drag and fuel costs by 90%. With less energy required, the ferries no longer need diesel engines and can operate with small electric motors similar to those in Formula E racing cars. Iain said: “I started as a sailor competing in Olympics and America’s Cups but slowly migrated more to the technical side. “One of the great things about the America’s Cup is it’s a design and engineering challenge too. “To be able to return to zero-emissions maritime transportation is something I am very passionate about and it was a natural next step.”

Iain is the chief executive of Artemis Technologies, a spin-off of the America’s Cup team Artemis Racing. He won sailing gold at the 2000 Sydney and 2008 Beijing Olympics – on the second occasion alongside his pal Andrew Simpson, who died in a sailing accident in 2013. Artemis is leading the Belfast Maritime Consortium – which includes Belfast and Ards and North Down councils, Belfast Harbour, Queen’s University, Ulster University, Belfast Metropolitan College, Bombardier UK, Catalyst, Creative Composites, Energia and the Northern Ireland Advanced Composites’ and Engineering Centre. It has made it to the final round of a competitive process to secure support through Government’s new Strength In Places innovation fund.

I started as a sailor but slowly migrated more to the technical side IAIN PERCY YESTERDAY

WATER GUY Iain Percy and, below inset, winning Olympic gold in 2000 TRAGIC LOSS With sailing pal Andrew Simpson who died in 2013