GEOJE, South Korea -- Major Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. (MOL) on Monday unveiled a liquefied natural gas carrier equipped with sails that allow it to use the wind for propulsion assistance, presenting it to the media at a shipyard in Geoje, South Korea.
The sails can bring the vessel's fuel consumption down to as much as 12% less than conventional models, the shipping company said.
Called the "Wind Challenger," the wind-assisted ship propulsion system was developed by a group of companies including MOL. The newly unveiled ship features two large, hard sails on its deck. The sails are adjustable and extend to a maximum height of about 50 meters. The system automatically adjusts the orientation and height of the sails after measuring the wind's speed and direction, then uses natural wind power to propel the ship forward. It is the first time MOL has developed a vessel equipped with two sails of this type, the company said.
In addition to improving fuel economy, MOL expects the system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its LNG carriers. Since LNG carriers generally utilize part of their cargo for propulsion, this technology will also help increase the total volume of LNG unloaded at delivery. "We expect demand (for the Wind Challenger system) to further increase, as companies are showing increasing interest in environmental issues," said Ryosuke Abe, manager of MOL's Environment and Innovation Team.
MOL plans to increase the number of its vessels equipped with the Wind Challenger system to 80 by 2035.
The LNG carrier revealed Monday was built by major South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean Co. It has an overall length of about 295 meters and a width of 46.4 meters. The capacity of its tank is 174,000 cubic meters.
A major U.S. oil company will become the consignor of the LNG carrier, while MOL will operate the vessel from this month. The shipping company also plans to introduce the Wind Challenger system to another LNG carrier, for which Tokyo Gas Co. will serve as the consignor.
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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.
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