WORLD’S FIRST TILTABLE ROTOR SAILS INSTALLED

Norsepower has successfully installed two 35m Rotor Sails for SEA-CARGO, heralding what is said to be the world’s first tiltable Rotor Sail installation and showing that vessels travelling on height-restricted routes can still benefit from this fuel and emissions-saving solution.

SC Connector, a 12,251 GT sidedoor RoRo, sails between western Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Poland. The route takes the vessel under multiple bridges and powerlines, requiring adaptation of the Rotor Sails to tilt to almost horizontal when required.

“In taking a collaborative approach with a customer, we can innovate to create solutions that allow Rotor Sails to benefit almost any vessel type or trading route,” explained Tuomas Riski, chief executive of Norsepower.

The Rotor Sail Solution is a modernised version of the Flettner rotor, a spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus effect to harness wind power to thrust a ship. It is the first third-party verified and commercially operational auxiliary wind propulsion technology for the global maritime industry.

According to analysis conducted by Norsepower and SEA-CARGO, the installation on board the SC Connector can achieve a fuel consumption, fuel cost and carbon emissions reduction of up to 25%.

“We are focusing on utilising available renewable energy and using it for direct propulsion to design more environmentally friendly vessels,” said Ole Sævild, managing director at SEA-CARGO. “The Rotor Sail technology has been proven in the market for a while, but the size is unique for our project.

“The sails are far more efficient than conventional sails of the same size and the tilting function is essential to our voyage routes,” he added.

source of information – motorship.com