Finnish clean technology provider Norsepower Oy announced its first newbuild order for the installation of five tilting rotor sails on board a large bulk carrier
The company, which specialises in auxillary wind propulsion systems, said the agreement heralds the first installation of Norsepower’s rotor sails on a bulk carrier. With the industry gearing to meet IMO’s 2030 and 2050 emissions reduction targets, the company commented that the Rotor Sail technology is adaptable and provides owners and operators with an emissions reducing option for both newbuilds and retrofits across different vessel types.
Rotor sails harness wind to generate thrust and reduce both fuel consumption and emissions with savings of between 5-20%, depending on the wind conditions and vessel route. The Norsepower Rotor Sail is a modernised version of the Flettner rotor, a spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus effect to harness wind power to thrust a ship.
Norsepower chief executive Tuomas Riski said “We are thrilled to be installing five tilting Rotor Sails on board not only the first Norsepower newbuild order, but also the first bulk carrier. Installing the Rotor Sails on the first bulk carrier demonstrates that our technology is adaptable for both retrofits and newbuild vessels, and across varied operational profiles and vessel types.
"The Rotor Sails can improve a vessel’s Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and future-proof vessels against impending IMO greenhouse gas regulations. There is incredible value in using wind propulsion, as it is a solution available now with proven results. We look forward to seeing the Rotor Sails in action next year.”
Norsepower added that its Rotor Sail is the “first third-party verified and commercially operational auxiliary wind propulsion technology for the global maritime industry”.
The sail is fully automated and detects whenever the wind is strong enough to deliver fuel and emissions savings, at which point the Rotor Sails start automatically. This will be the sixth installation of the Rotor Sails. The owner of the vessel is unnamed at this time but preparations are taking place with installation set for 2021.
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