Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has announced the completion of ‘Green Winds’, a 63,896 dwt Ultramax bulk carrier equipped with the Wind Challenger hard sail wind power propulsion system at Oshima Shipbuilding.
MOL Group company MOL Drybulk will operate this new vessel, the second of a total of nine MOL Group vessels that have been or will be equipped with the Wind Challenger, and the first crane-equipped vessel with the Wind Challenger.
The Wind Challenger is a device developed by MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding that converts wind energy to propulsive force using telescoping hard sails. With the Wind Challenger, the vessel is expected to reduce fuel consumption and GHG emissions by about 7%-16%, depending on the ship route and other conditions.
Image: ‘Green Winds’ sail-equipped bulk carrier (source: MOL)
