US-based Chevron Shipping Co and Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines are embarking on an industry first by fitting two wind sails to an LNG carrier newbuilding.
The two companies have agreed to install Wind Challenger — a hard sail wind-assisted ship propulsion system developed by MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding — on a new 174,000-cbm LNG carrier.
The newbuilding has been chartered by energy major Chevron subsidiary Chevron Shipping on a long-term basis from MOL Encean.
The illustrative material provided shows an LNG carrier fitted with two of the telescopic Wind Challenger sails mounted on the port and starboard sides of the vessel in the bow region.
The LNG newbuilding is due for delivery from Hanwha Ocean in 2026.
This vessel will mark the world’s first LNG carrier equipped with wind-assisted ship propulsion systems, Chevron Shipping said. It follows MOL being granted approval in principle by ClassNK for an LNG carrier with a wind-assisted propulsion system.
To date, Wind Challenger has been fitted to two bulk carrier newbuildings, but MOL has said it wants to roll out the system to other ship types.
Chevron Shipping, which last year announced a green technologies retrofit plan for its owned LNG carriers, said the new sail system will help reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Additional safety measures include a fully enclosed navigation bridge and a lookout station on the vessel’s foredeck to further enhance visibility, the company said.
Chevron Shipping said that for tradability, the installation position of the Wind Challenger sails aims to minimise the impact on the existing design of membrane-type LNG carriers. The company said the change will allow for the retention of the existing mooring arrangement, minimising impacts on ship-shore compatibility and the vessel’s windage area.
Chevron Shipping president Barbara Pickering said: “We’re proud to partner with MOL in Wind Challenger’s industry-first LNG installation. This is another example of using novel approaches in hard-to-abate sectors to reduce carbon intensity in our LNG fleet.”
MOL president and chief executive Takeshi Hashimoto said he was delighted to be able to expand the Wind Challenger Project to LNG carriers in addition to the two delivered Wind Challenger-equipped bulkers and other ongoing projects.
“Achieving GHG reduction in the maritime transport of LNG, which is increasingly in demand worldwide as a transition fuel, is a very important mission for us,” Hashimoto said. “This project will undoubtedly be a significant milestone towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, a medium to long-term goal of the Mitsui OSK Lines Group.”
