Wind propulsion technology take-up is being boosted by two major bulk carrier owners coming back for more kit or testing out different kinds of equipment.
Japan’s K Line said today it has confirmed orders for three additional Seawing systems, bringing its total to five vessels that will use the Airseas’ wind propulsion technology to cut emissions.
It follows Berge Bulk revealing last week that it will fit two of its vessels with Anemoi Marine Technologies’ rotor sails.
Last month Berge Bulk also opted to retrofit Bar Technologies WindWings sails to a bulk carrier.
K Line said it will install the Seawings parafoils that fly around 300 metres above sea level on three post panamax bulkers, following two initial installations on capesize bulkers.
The Japanese owner said harnessing the power of the wind to propel its ships and reduce the main engine load would aim to save an average of 20% fuel and emissions.
Berge Bulk said it will fit four large folding Anemoi rotor sails on the 388,000- dwt Valemax ore carrier Berge Neblina (built 2012) which was made ‘wind-ready’ earlier this year.
The same approach will be taken with the 210,000-dwt Newcastlemax bulk carrier Berge Mulhacen (built 2017) with the aim of saving 1,200-1,500 tonnes of fuel per vessel each year.
Rotor sails are large mechanical cylinders that harness the power of the wind to reduce emissions and fuel consumption when driven to spin.
In June Berge Bulk also announced it will install four Bar Technologies WindWings on the 210,000-dwt Berge Olympus (built 2018).
The retrofit of 50-metre tall rigid sails, handled by Yara Marine Technologies, will take place in the second quarter of 2023 with the aim of cutting CO2 emissions by up to 30% through a combination of wind propulsion and route optimisation.
K Line’s first Seawing installation will be on a 210,000-dwt capesize bulker during December 2022. Its second will be on the same size LNG-fuelled newbuilding currently being built at Nihon Shipyard.
Airseas has a 20-year deal with K Line with options for Seawings to be fitted on up to 50 of its ships.
K Line managing executive officer Michitomo Iwashita said the company has adopted an ambitious net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050. He added: “We look forward to seeing it [Seawings] deployed on our fleets in the coming years.”
Paolo Tonon, technical director at Berge Bulk, said the company is committed to exploring greener energy sources. “Wind propulsion is an option we have explored previously in other formats, and we firmly believe it can help achieve our decarbonisation commitments,” he said.
Tonon told TradeWinds today that the company is looking to test the Anemoi rotors and BAR WindWings on east-west iron ore routes to discover the best sailing patterns.
“I am definitely convinced we will see more rigid wings on our vessels and other wind technologies as well. We want to get our hands dirty — to really test because we need to take decisions, and decisions are much easier to take when we have a real set of data from operating experience,” Tonon said.
