EcoNavis Solutions has secured its first commercial contract for the Eco Boss Cap, a proprietary energy-saving propeller hub cap introduced to the market in 2024.
The fuel-saving, emissions-reducing hub will be retrofitted to a general cargo carrier operated by a Thailand-based ship manager. EcoNavis has received two POs from the company, which is evaluating further installations across five more vessels. Retrofit work to the 177m long vessel’s 5m diameter propeller is scheduled for mid-August 2025 at a Chinese shipyard, close to Shanghai. EcoNavis engineers will supervise the installation and early operation of the device, with sea trials expected shortly after the retrofit.
When commissioned, the installation will mark the first full-scale deployment of the Eco Boss Cap, a conically shaped propeller hub featuring a patented arrangement of internal chambers and holes designed to reduce fuel consumption, emissions, and propeller-induced hub vortex cavitation. Developed following extensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis and validation in a European cavitation tunnel test facility and towing tank tests, the Eco Boss Cap has demonstrated efficiency gains of up to 5% across all speed ranges.
Dr Batuhan Aktas, Founder and CEO, EcoNavis Solutions, said: “This is a significant milestone for EcoNavis as a serious technology partner to the global shipping industry. The ship operators’ interest came directly in response to our earlier work, which speaks volumes about both the industry need and the credibility of the energy efficiency results we’ve achieved.”
Unlike traditional boss cap designs, which use fin appendages to redirect flow and can introduce turbulence, the Eco Boss Cap uses an internal chamber and a series of precisely angled holes to manage water flow through pressure differential. This configuration eliminates the cavitation responsible for rudder erosion, underwater noise, and thrust losses, and avoids the torque penalties associated with fin-type designs.
With no blades, no fins, no rotating appendages, the Eco Boss Cap is considered easier to manufacture and install than most other energy-saving propeller hubs caps. Cast as a single piece and free of complex geometries, it is intended to be installed during a standard drydocking in under six hours.
Aktas said: “This cost-effective production means a lower upfront investment, with a payback time of less than a year for a 180m handy-size bulk carrier burning about 25t of fuel per day.”
EcoNavis COO Amitavo Wye added: “This is not just a product launch. It’s the start of a new phase in ship efficiency. Eco Boss Cap is tailor-made for each vessel to deliver greater fuel savings over a wider operating envelope. Shipowners don’t want a generic solution; they want performance that works for their ships’ actual operating conditions.”
EcoNavis Solutions has secured over £550,000 in grants and private funding to bring the technology to market. The Scotland-headquartered company is currently pursuing partnerships in Europe, the US, and Asia as it brings its retrofittable efficiency solutions to market.
Wye concluded: “This is just the beginning. With early traction in Southeast Asia and strong interest in Greece, Singapore and the US, we’re building momentum around a product that directly addresses CII, EEXI and ESG compliance without complexity or disruption.”
Image: The Eco Boss Cap is to be retrofitted to a general cargo carrier (source: EcoNavis Solutions)
