The type approval was issued by DNV GL last month after a design assessment of Norsepower’s 30 m x 5 m Rotor Sail, two of which have been installed onboard the Maersk Pelican LR2 tanker (pictured).
Read more: Wind power - Maersk tanker fitted with rotor sails
Certification means that vessels operating Norsepower’s Rotor Sail Solution – an updated version of the Flettner rotor that uses the Magnus effect to harness wind power to help propel a ship - are technically capable of safely navigating ‘all operational and environmental situations.
In all three vessels have now been fitted with Norsepower Rotor Sails, which have cumulatively logged over 35,000 hours of operation. Fuel savings are said to be “potentially up to 20%” although 5-10% figures are more typically achievable, mostly in northern seas where strong winds are more prevalent, Norsepower officials told Seatrade Maritime News during a reception the company co-hosted in London during International Petroleum Week at end-February
Having a type approval design certificate is not only important for Rotor Sail clients but also “removes yet another hurdle to the realisation of renewable wind energy propulsion systems at a scale that supports shipping’s transformation to a low carbon transport sector,’ commented Norsepower ceo Tuomas Riski, who was winner of the Young Entrepreneur Award 2017 organised by Nor-Shipping and YoungShip.
Geir Dugstad, DNV GL director of ship classification and technical director, added: “To help reduce shipping’s environmental impact we will need many different fuel and technology options, which is why we were very pleased that Norsepower asked us to be part of this innovative wind propulsion project.”
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