Interestingly, after so many years of developing the latest technologies, the shipping industry is back to sails again. The only difference, that the sails are now not made of fabric, but whole technological installations. Finnish company Norsepower has announced its first newbuild order for the installation of a record five tilting rotor sails onboard a large bulk carrier.
The owner of the vessel has not been disclosed at this stage and the installations are expected to take place in 2021. It will be the sixth installation of the Norsepower rotor sails and the first on a bulk carrier.
A recent pilot project with Maersk Tankers showed that the installation of two rotary sails onboard a product tanker reduced fuel consumption by 8.2%.
«We are thrilled to be installing five tilting rotor sails onboard 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 GHG regulations. There is incredible value in using wind propulsion, particularly as it is a solution available now with proven results. We look forward to seeing the rotor sails in action next year», — commented Tuomas Riski, CEO of Norsepower.
The Norsepower Rotor Sail Solution – which can be installed on new vessels or retrofitted on existing ships – is a modernized version of the Flettner rotor, a spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus effect to harness wind power to thrust a ship.
Norsepower recently entered into an agreement with ro-ro operator Sea-Cargo for the first installation of the world’s first tiltable rotor sail on the company’s vessel.
