Brazilian mining giant Vale has decided to install five rotor sails from London-based Anemoi Marine Technologies, a large supplier of wind-assisted propulsion technology, onboard a 400,000 dwt Valemax.
The very large ore carrier (VLOC) is owned by Omani shipowner, Asyad.
Five 35-meter-tall, 5-meter-diameter cylindrical sails will be installed on the Sohar Max VLOC.
The rotor sails will be fitted on Anemoi’s folding deployment system, whereby the sails can be folded from the vertical to mitigate impact on air draught and cargo handling operations.
The installation work should be completed in the second quarter of 2024, and is expected to bring fuel savings of 6% and cut CO2 equivalent emissions by up to 3,000 tons per ship per year.
The project, which is classed by Lloyd Register, follows the retrofit of three rotor sails with rail deployment systems onboard an 82,000 dwt kamsarmax bulk carrier in June 2023. “Initial data harvested from the vessel to date suggest more than 10% average annual savings can be achieved,” Anemoi claims.
Rodrigo Bermelho, Vale’s shipping technical manager, said: “Wind energy will play a central role in our strategy to decarbonize the maritime transportation of iron ore.”
Nick Contopoulos, COO of Anemoi Marine Technologies, noted: “Anemoi has been developing tailored solutions for Vale’s vessels for a number of years and this latest project signifies an important step in Vale’s decarbonisation journey, using wind assisted propulsion as they lead the way to improve the energy efficiency of their vessels, and reduce their net emissions.”
Anemoi Marine Technologies has also entered, as Shipping Telegraph reported last month, into a joint design cooperation deal with Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, for the design of rotor sails onboard two LNG carrier newbuildings.
As part of the agreement, Anemoi will assess the feasibility and design of rotor sails for installation on LNG carriers, and develop relevant specification requirements and designs that can be used for future installation projects in order to meet current and future environmental targets.
Earlier this year, Anemoi announced it was on track to have a production capacity to install up to 50 rotor sails a year by the end of 2023 due to growing demand for the technology.
