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BHP sets Rotor Sails on Geared BulkerBHP sets Rotor Sails on Geared Bulker

Mining giant BHP has partnered with Pan Pacific Copper and Nippon Marine to try out a rotor sail system aboard a geared bulker to reduce emissions.

Michele Labrut, Americas Correspondent

August 11, 2022

1 Min Read
Koryu Norsepower
Norsepower

One of the deck cranes aboard the Koryu, a 53,000 dwt combination carrier, will be switched with a Norsepower rotor sail on a tilting foundation

The installation is scheduled for completion by the third quarter of 2023, and may be the first aboard a geared bulker. Norsepower’s Flettner rotors provide the vessel with "push-button" wind propulsion, up to ten times more effective than a conventional sail, with no reefing or crew attention in use.

WIth the technology on board, Koryu will be the cleanest vessel in her category in terms of GHG emissions intensity, according to BHP. Koryu's carbon intensity is helped by very high cargo utilisation rates; the vessel serves a steady trade carrying copper concentrate from Chile to Japan, returning with sulfuric acid from Japan back to Chile, under a multi-year contract between BHP and Pan Pacific Copper (PPC). 

"As fuel prices increase and a carbon levy is initiated, investing in technologies which have proven emissions reductions and fuel savings is essential for long term commercial success," said Norsepower CSO Jukka Kuuskoski.

PPC President, Kazuhiro Hori said “PPC and BHP has been sharing the mission to accelerate the activities for decarbonization in line with our respective climate targets and goals. The Koryu project is a good example of our collaboration and valuable step that proves eagerness by both companies to establish ecosystem partnerships to take on the climate challenge. We are looking forward to further developing the partnership with BHP in various areas.”

About the Author

Michele Labrut

Americas Correspondent

Michèle Labrut is a long-time Panama resident, a journalist and correspondent, and has continuously covered the maritime sector of Central & Latin America.

Michèle first came to Panama as a press attaché to the French Embassy and then returned to the isthmus as a foreign correspondent in the 1980s.

Author of Seatrade Maritime's annual Panama Maritime Review magazine and of several books, Michèle also wrote for Time magazine, The Miami Herald, NBC News and the Economist Intelligence Unit. She has also collaborated in making several documentaries for the BBC and European and U.S. television networks.

Michèle's profession necessitates a profound knowledge of the country, but her acumen is not from necessity alone, but a genuine passion for Panama.

In 2012 she was awarded the Order of Merit (Knight grade) by the French Government for her services to international journalism and in 2021 the upgrade to Chevalier grade.

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