New-generation sail maker Norsepower has struck a deal with French ship operator Socatra to retrofit a second tanker.
Norsepower will fit two 35-metre rotor sails on the 50,000-dwt MR tanker Alcyone (built 2022) in a move that is projected to cut emissions by 8%.
The Finnish company previously installed the rotor sails on the 110,000-dwt Maersk Pelican (built 2008) in August 2018 and a year-long trial found that it led to similar emissions savings.
Rotor sails have been identified as one way to reduce fuel use and improve a ship’s environmental footprint.
Power from the main engine spins the rotor, which then creates thrust as the wind moves around it.
New regulations in 2023 have placed a premium on ships’ emissions performance, with penalties for the most polluting vessels.
The units for the Alcyone, which is chartered by energy company TotalEnergies, are due to be delivered in December and installed by the first quarter of 2024. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Since launching in 2012, Norsepower has equipped six ships with one to five sails.
The company is not yet profitable, but chief executive Tuomas Riski told TradeWinds last month that he was hoping to sign the first fleet deal in 2023. He said the technology is well suited to tankers because of their capacity to fit on decks, and it had already been proved to work.
“This is why we are confident that we can achieve at least 8% fuel consumption saving, based on existing data and projections,” he said.
The Maersk Pelican has since been sold twice and is now owned by Greece’s United Maritime Corp under the name Epanastasea.
Socatra has a fleet of 12 tankers. CEO Laurent Bozzoni said: “We believe that our MR tanker Alcyone will benefit from significant efficiency gains and help us reduce our CO2 emissions.”
Jerome Cousin, senior vice president of shipping at TotalEnergies, said it could add more wind-assisted propulsion to its fleet if the project is successful.
