Japanese shipowner Mitsui OSK has signed a deal with Brazilian iron ore producer Vale to study the installation of a wind propulsion system on a Newcastlemax dry bulk carrier.
The study will focus on installing a wind propulsion system known as a rotor sail onto an in-service 200,000 deadwight tonne (dwt) bulker. These vessels, also typically known as Newcastlemax ships, are commonly used by Vale to transport iron ore.
Rotor sails allow the main engines to be throttled back when wind conditions are favourable, saving fuel and reducing emissions while maintaining speed and voyage time.
The technology, which is manufactured by UK-based firm Anemoi Marine Technologies, "generates differential pressure around the slewing rotor while the vessel is underway" to propel the vessel along. This maximises the efficiency of the system, because "the natural energy of the wind directly propels the vessel rather than being converted into electricity", MOL said.
Anemoi installed the world's first rotor sail on a smaller Ultramax bulker in 2018. It also signed an agreement with dry bulk operator Oldendorff earlier this year.
Vale has already completed studies into the economics of installing five rotor sails on a 325,000dwt Guaibamax very large ore carrier and estimates that they will allow a gain in efficiency of up to 8pc and a consequent reduction of up to 3,400t of CO2 equivalent per ship per year.
"We realised that we have an advantage over our competitors — the Brazil-Asia [iron ore shipping] route has more wind on average than that of Australia-Asia," Vale's shipping technical manager, Rodrigo Bermelho said. And there would be no interference during loading, he added, despite the sails being mounted on the deck close to the hatches.
Vale is also looking into other measures to reduce its overall bunker fuel consumption, including using LNG as a fuel and installing air lubrication systems — which generate bubbles under the hull of the ship and reduce its friction with the water.
