Idemitsu Tanker to install rotor sails on two crude carriers

Japanese tanker operator Idemitsu Tanker will install rotor sails on two very large crude carriers (VLCCs).

IMAGE: Illustration of Idemitsu Tanker’s VLCC equipped with rotor sails. Norsepower

Each vessel will be fitted with two 35-meter rotor sails supplied by Finnish cleantech company Norsepower.

The rotor sail uses the Magnus effect — generating lift through the spinning of the sails — allowing the main engine to throttle back in favourable wind conditions and cut fuel use without reducing speed.

The VLCCs, to be built by Japan Marine United (JMU) and Nihon Shipyard (NSY), represent “the world-first release of VLCCs to be fitted with rotor sails,” Norsepower said.

The first ship is expected to be delivered at the end of 2028.

Norsepower’s rotor sails typically reduce fuel consumption by 5–25%, with even greater savings possible under optimal wind, routing and operational conditions, the company claimed.

By Tuhin Roy

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