Norsepower Ltd., a leading provider of auxiliary wind propulsion systems, has signed a contract with IINO Lines, a global shipping company, for the delivery and installation of two Norsepower Rotor Sails™️ on a newbuild Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC).
The vessel was recently delivered from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd in Korea and is ready to be equipped with two bespoke 20m tall Norsepower Rotor Sails™️ side by side. These 20m x 4m units have been specially designed to fit the vessel's specific air draught limits and will be installed in Q2 2024.
The Norsepower Rotor Sail™️ is a modernized version of the Flettner rotor and works by using a small amount of electricity to spin a cylinder on the deck.
The spinning cylinder, along with the wind, creates the Magnus effect to generate thrust, thereby supporting the main propulsion and reducing fuel consumption, emissions, and fuel costs.
According to Norsepower's calculations, the Rotor Sails will reduce the fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions from the vessel by approximately 4%, which will help the vessel meet international emissions reduction targets, including the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII), and save on rising fuel costs.
This performance estimate has been verified by ClassNK, a third-party certification body.
The new VLGC is a dual-fuel ship that runs on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and it will be delivered in March 2023 with the Norsepower Rotor Sail™️ foundations already fitted. The installation of the Rotor Sails will take place in Q2 2024 after the vessel has begun operating.
Hiromi Tosha, President of IINO Lines, commented: “IINO Lines is committed to taking an innovative approach to meeting and exceeding local and international decarbonisation targets. Investing in sustainable vessels is central to our approach and working with Norsepower will enable us to use innovative, and proven technologies which fit in seamlessly with our operations. We appreciate all the concerned parties who made efforts to realise this innovative project. We look forward to the installation of the Rotor Sails to make the vessel greener than ever.”
Tuomas Riski, CEO of Norsepower, added: “With more stringent environmental regulation being enforced, interest in the Norsepower Rotor Sail™️ is increasing significantly and our latest agreement shows how action is being taken today across multiple stakeholders including charterers. This is being underpinned by the real-life performance data from the 15 Norsepower Rotor Sails™️ which are in action today. The data taken from eight years of operations demonstrates the reduction of fuel costs and emissions that are achieved, which in some cases is over 25%. It is also Norsepower’s third gas carrier installation contract. We are pleased to be helping IINO Lines, among many others, improve their environmental and commercial performance in the run up to 2030 emissions reduction targets as well as being part of the solution to help shipping reach its stretch goal of carbon neutrality."