Norsepower Rotor Sails Achieve 8.2% of Fuel Savings on Maersk Pelican

October 24, 2019, by World Maritime News

The two Norsepower Rotor Sails installed onboard the Maersk Tankers product tanker Maersk Pelican have reduced the ship’s fuel consumption by 8.2% during a 12-month trial period.

The Rotor Sails were installed onboard Maersk Pelican in August 2018 and the 8.2% in savings was recorded from September 1, 2018 to September 1, 2019.

The Finnish developer of the technology explained that this was equivalent to approximately 1,400 tonnes of CO2. The savings were confirmed by comparing detailed performance information to a baseline established with full scale measurements and computational analysis done for the vessel prior the Rotor Sail installation.

The Rotor Sails are large, cylindrical mechanical sails that spin to create a pressure differential, the Magnus Effect, that propels the vessel forward; in this instance a Maersk Tankers’ Long Range 2 (LR2) product tanker vessel.

The technology delivers auxiliary wind propulsion to the vessel – which have operated in conditions ranging from tropical climate to arctic conditions in Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia – resulting in the optimization of energy efficiency and a reduction in fuel consumption.

Independent experts from Lloyd’s Register’s (LR’s) Ship Performance Group have analysed and validated the performance data during the project to ensure an impartial assessment, Norsepower said, adding that technical and operational insights for performance studies will also be published.

“During the one-year trial period on Maersk Pelican, crew and operators have reported positively on the usability, safety and performance of the Rotor Sails in all conditions,” Tommy Thomassen, Chief Technical Officer at Maersk Tankers, said.

“With the Maersk Pelican, there are three vessels in daily commercial operation using Norsepower’s Rotor Sails. Each of these cases represents a very different vessel type and operational profile, demonstrating the widespread opportunity to harness the wind through Rotor Sails across the maritime industry,” Tuomas Riski, CEO at Norsepower added.

The technology could offer even more savings depending on the vessels’ particular routes, Darryl Hylands, Programme Manager, HDV, Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), one of the partners on the project noted.

“On certain routes during the trial the vessel achieved fuel savings way beyond the average of 8.2% even with average wind conditions,” Hylands said.

“There is a clear potential to achieve higher fuel savings, and hence CO2savings, on routes with more favourable wind conditions, which further improves the commercial viability of the technology.”

Norsepower has recently entered into an agreement with Wärtsilä that would enable Norsepower to order service work from Wärtsilä, while Wärtsilä can pursue and sell Norsepower Rotor Sail projects with support from Norsepower.