Stena Line and Norsepower have sealed a deal for the delivery of two Norsepower rotor sails™ on an all-new methanol hybrid newbuild RoRo vessel Stena Connecta.
The 147-metre vessel, built by Jinling Weihai Shipyard in China, will feature two 28x4m Norsepower rotor sails™ (NPRS), projected to deliver up to 9% fuel savings on the planned trade route, according to the company’s release.
The ship built to operate on methanol is scheduled for delivery to Stena Line from Stena RoRo in the fourth quarter of 2025.
It will operate on the Irish Sea, between Belfast and Heysham, where wind conditions are very favourable for wind assisted propulsion.
Dennis Tetzlaff, chief operating officer fleet, at Stena Line said, “Stena Line recently launched our new ship, Stena Connecta, into the water and it will now be fitted out with two rotor sails. These sails will harness wind power to provide auxiliary propulsion to the vessel, therefore reducing fuel consumption and emissions.”
It’s worth mentioning that the sister vessel in the same series, Stena Futura, is being delivered “rotor sail ready.”
The company said that in order to minimise the environmental impact during the project’s execution phase, the NPRS will be manufactured at Norsepower’s new production facility in Yancheng, China, and delivered directly to the shipyard.
