Green steel meets sails: MOL’s ‘first-of-its-kind’ vessel champions clean shipping

Japan’s shipping titan Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has cut the ribbon for the 17,500 dwt multipurpose vessel Prima Verde, the ‘world’s first’ ship to combine green steel, a wind-assisted propulsion system, and an engine capable of running exclusively on marine gas oil (MGO).

As disclosed, the newbuilding was delivered on January 30, 2025, at Onomichi Dockyard, headquartered in Hyogo Prefecture. The ship, the order for which was reportedly placed in January 2022, is set to be operated by MOL’s group company MOL Drybulk, and “effectively owned” by compatriot Osaka-based Daishin Shipping.

The Liberia-flagged MPP boasts a length of 130 meters, a breadth of 23.6 meters and a draft of 9.8 meters.

According to MOL, Prima Verde has been donned with two VentoFoil wind power-assisted vessel propulsion devices developed by the Netherlands’ wind propulsion systems specialist Econowind.

The VentoFoils, resembling vertical airplane wings, are non-rotating suction wings that harness the energy of the wind to generate additional thrust, thereby minimizing reliance on traditional fuels while the incorporated internal fans and a suction mechanism are believed to optimize airflow and ‘enhance’ propulsion efficiency. It is understood that this design allows for ‘significant’ fuel savings while also contributing to ‘substantial’ reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Prima Verde is not the first vessel in MOL’s fleet to feature wind-assisted technology, however. In May 2024, the company revealed that a batch of other units—all to be operated by MOL Drybulk— was slated to be equipped with these solutions.

Going further, in 2018, MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding took charge of a project dubbed the “Wind Challenger Plan” which was initially started by The University of Tokyo back in 2009.

The Wind Challenger hard sail is a solution intended for decreasing GHG emissions via proprietary technologies that sense wind direction and speed in real-time, MOL noted, providing fully automatic control of sail extension, contraction and rotation.

Using this method, the company completed the construction of the 100,000 dwt coal carrier Shofu Maru, donned with the Wind Challenger in October 2022. As reported, in the approximately 18 months through April 2024, the ship transported coal on a total of seven round-trip voyages to Japan with reduced daily fuel consumption by up to 17%, equating to 5% to 8% per voyage on average.

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That same year, in August, MOL obtained what it said was the ‘world’s first’ class approval—granted by classification society Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK)—for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier with a wind-assisted propulsion system.

Regarding Prima Verde, MOL explained that the newbuilding has been fitted with an engine that can run exclusively on MGO made by Japan Engine Corporation. The engine is described as possessing high combustion efficiency and low carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions during operation.

JGreeX, a green steel material supplied by compatriot JFE Steel Corporation, was used for the construction of the vessel’s hull, MOL shared. JGreeX is said to slash carbon emissions in its manufacturing process.

The use of green steel in the shipping industry has gained widespread attention from numerous stakeholders in recent times. As per a January 2024 analysis by UMAS and Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub, the progressive utilization of green steel could lead to CO2 reductions equivalent to a year of international shipping’s operational emissions.

A ‘notable’ step in the adoption of environmentally forward materials in Japan’s shipbuilding sector took place in mid-October 2024 when ClassNK rewarded what was said to be the ‘first-ever’ class notation for the use of green steel in a ship. The certification was granted to NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers’ 13,600 dwt bulker Bright Queen.

As reported, the steel underwent a third-party certification process by ClassNK, which was responsible for confirming the technology’s compliance with the mass balance approach, used to allocate GHG emission reductions across products to support wider climate neutrality efforts.

What is more, the use of JGreex as well as the wind propulsion systems and the MGO on Prima Verde is in line with MOL’s sustainability vision, i.e. the company’s ambition to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050.

To progress its climate neutrality goals, the company has shaken hands with a number of industry stakeholders.

For instance, in July 2024, MOL announced it would start employing a dynamic voyage optimization platform developed by Sofar Ocean for its group’s operating vessels with the purpose of cutting down on GHG emissions by improving fuel efficiency.

In November of that same year, MOL teamed up with the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA Singapore) on maritime decarbonization initiatives, encompassing next-generation fuel sources, digitalization, and human resources development.