MOL installs first Wind Challenger hard sail on board bulk carrier

Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has installed a hard sail system on board a bulk carrier developed under the Wind Challenger project at compatriot Oshima Shipbuilding.

The project, which aims to harness wind as a propulsive force for merchant ships, is now ready to proceed to the commissioning stage and sea trials, according to MOL’s social media update.

The hard sail-equipped vessel is slated for delivery in October this year when it will start transporting cargoes for Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc.

The milestone was reached 13 years after the beginning of the Wind Challenger plan, an industry-academia joint research project led by The University of Tokyo, which was taken over by MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding in January 2018.

The introduction plan of a large-scale dry bulk vessel with a hard sail system was recently certified by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Specifically, it was certified as an “Introduction plan of a vessel with excellent environmental performance” under the Wind Challenger project.

Moreover, MOL’s Wind Challenger technology, together with rotor sail technology developed by Anemoi Marine Technologies, will be utilised on board a 62,900 dwt eco-friendly bulk carrier to be built by Oshima Shipbuilding.

The vessel is a part of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between MOL’s subsidiary MOL Drybulk, and sustainable wood bioenergy producer Enviva seeking to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the woody biomass supply chain.

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