Norsepower has signed an agreement with Fi[ds_preview]nnish shipping company Viking Line to install its Rotor Sail Solution onboard the M/S »Viking Grace«, an LNG-fuelled cruise ferry.
The 57,565 GT ferry currently operates in the archipelago between Turku (Finland) and Stockholm (Sweden), and is already one of the most environmentally-friendly cruise ferries in the global maritime industry. With the addition of Norsepower’s technology, the vessel will further reduce its emissions, fuel burn and fuel costs; reducing carbon emissions by about 900 t annually; equivalent to cutting 300 t of LNG fuel per year.
Preparations for the retrofit are underway, with the installation scheduled to take place during Q2 of 2018. »Viking Grace« is set to be retrofitted with one medium-sized Norsepower Rotor Sail unit that is 24 m in height and 4 m in diameter, making it the first-ever global LNG/wind electric propulsion hybrid ship.
The Norsepower Rotor Sail Solution, which can be installed on new vessels or retrofitted on existing ships without off-hire costs, is a modernised version of the Flettner rotor; a spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus effect to harness wind power to propel a ship. The solution is fully automated and senses whenever the wind is strong enough to deliver fuel savings, at which point the rotors start automatically – optimising crew time and resource.
»Our cruise vessel will be the first to use a combination of alternative clean fuels, modern Rotor Sails, electric propulsion, and a hydrodynamically optimised hull,« said Ulf Hagström, Senior Vice President at Viking Line.
To date, independent data analysis indicates that up to 20% fuel savings per year can be achieved on routes with favourable wind flows, sufficient sized Rotor Sails, and appropriate service speed. The technology has proven commercial applicability, with two small units of Norsepower’s Rotor Sails installed on board Bore’s »Estraden«, a 9,700 dwt Ro-Ro carrier. Measured and independently verified by NAPA, the leading maritime data analysis, software and services provider, the Rotor Sail Solution delivered fuel consumption reductions of 6.1% until now.
