Finnish mechanical sails provider for larger ships Norsepower has signed a landmark deal with Japan’s Idemitsu Tanker Co., Ltd., the shipping arm of Idemitsu Kosan, to equip two very large crude carriers (VLCCs) with the Norsepower rotor sail™.
The vessels will be built by Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU) and Nihon Shipyard Co., Ltd., (NSY).
Each VLCC will be delivered with two 35x5m explosion-proof Norsepower rotor sails™. The first vessel is scheduled for delivery at the end of 2028.
With 22 units in operation in this segment alone, Norsepower rotor sails have already been installed on tankers of various size – from smaller chemical tankers, LC02 carriers, MR, LR, VLGC – and now, for the first time, on VLCCs.
Heikki Pöntynen, chief executive officer of Norsepower, commented: “This is a defining moment for Norsepower and for wind propulsion in global shipping.
“Partnering with Idemitsu Tanker and JMU on the first VLCCs with rotor sails and doing so as our first newbuild project in Japan, is a tremendous step forward. Japan has already become the single biggest market for Norsepower projects, and this collaboration confirms both the trust in our technology and its relevance across all tanker segments.”
The Norsepower rotor sail is a modernised, data-driven evolution of the Flettner rotor – a spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus Effect to capture wind and deliver clean propulsion.
