IINO Lines to install rotor sails on VLGC newbuild
Japanese shipping company IINO Lines has signed an agreement with Finnish wind propulsion systems maker Norsepower to install a pair of rotor sails on one of its Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC).
PHOTO: IINO Lines’ VLGC model fitted with Norsepower’s rotor sails. IINO Lines
The LPG dual fuel ship, which has been built by South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, will be fitted with two 20-metre-tall rotor sails by Norsepower. The installation will be done in the second quarter of next year after the vessel is in operation.
A rotor sail is a modernised form of a Flettner rotor based on the Magnus effect, which creates air pressure to cause spinning. Under favourable wind conditions, the rotor sails will enable the vessel's main engine to throttle back and consume less fuel while providing enough power to maintain speed.
Norsepower expects the rotor sails to reduce “CO₂ emissions from the vessel by approximately 4%” through lower fuel consumption.
"The data taken from eight years of operations (of rotor sails) demonstrates the reduction of fuel costs and emissions that are achieved, which in some cases is over 25%," Norsepower chief executive Tuomas Riski says.
The shipping industry has been exploring wind-assisted propulsion systems to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, which has spurred demand for this technology.
In light of the growing demand, the company secured a €10-million ($11 million) loan from the Finnish Climate Fund to expand rotor sails manufacturing in January.
The company has also secured several other deals to install its rotor sails on vessels in recent months, including a bulk carrier operated by Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Brazilian mining company Vale, a ro-ro vessel operated by Luxembourg-based shipping company CLdN, and a tanker operated by French shipowner and operator Socatra.
By Tuhin Roy
Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online
