MOL to operate two vessels with rotor sails by 2024

Japanese shipping firm Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) expects rotor sails to reduce the vessels' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by almost 20%.

PHOTO: Model of a bulk carrier with rotor sails. MOL

MOL has announced plans to equip a second bulk carrier with a rotor sails system. The two bulk carriers are being constructed by Japan’s Oshima Shipbuilding, with first carrier expected to be delivered this October and the other by 2024.

The vessels will use an auxiliary wind propulsion system developed by the British wind technology firm Anemoi Marine. Anemoi has been developing rotor sails for years, and installed the world’s first rotor sail on an ultramax bulk carrier in 2018.

A rotor sail is a modern version of flettner rotor that is based on the Magnus effect, which creates air pressure to cause spinning.

During favourable wind conditions, the rotor sails will allow the vessel's main engine to throttle back and save fuel consumption while providing enough power to maintain speed.