Oshima Shipbuilding delivers Mitsui's second wind assisted propulsion bulk carrier

Recently, Oshima Shipbuilding of Japan completed and delivered the 64000 deadweight ton Ultramax bulk carrier "Green Winds" for Mitsui, the second new ship built by Mitsui to be equipped with the "Wind Challenger" hard wing sail wind propulsion system.

The "Green Winds" has a total length of 199.95 meters, a width of 32.26 meters, a carrying capacity of 63896 tons, and is flying the Panamanian flag. The ship will be operated by MOL Drybulk, a subsidiary of Mitsui International, and will be equipped with one "Wind Challenger" hard wing sail wind propulsion system. The system has a maximum height of approximately 39.5 meters and a width of approximately 11.4 meters.

Mitsui Mercantile currently plans to install "Wind Challenger" devices on 9 new ships, the first of which is the 100000 deadweight ton coal transport ship "Shofu Maru", also built by Oshima Shipbuilding, scheduled for delivery in October 2022. The actual sailing results show that after using the Wind Challenger system, the "Matsumoto Maru" can save up to 17% of fuel per day, with an average fuel savings of 5% to 8% per voyage.

After the delivery of the second "Green Winds" ship, the next third ship will be the 89999 deadweight ton coal transport ship "KUROTAKISAN MARU III", which was delivered by Oshima Shipbuilding in 2021 and is expected to complete the installation of the "Wind Challenger" device in 2025.

The remaining six ships include three 42000 deadweight ton flexible bulk carriers and three 58000 deadweight ton large flexible bulk carriers, each of which will be equipped with one "Wind Challenger" device. Among them, three ships are currently under construction by Oshima Shipbuilding and are planned to be delivered from the second half of 2026 to the first half of 2027; The other three ships are about to sign construction contracts and will be delivered between 2027 and 2028.

It is reported that the "Wind Challenger" is the world's first hard wing sail type wind propulsion device independently developed and manufactured by Mitsui, using fiber-reinforced composite materials (FRP) to balance strength and weight. The onboard computer system adjusts the height and angle of the sails based on wind direction and maximizes the wind power thrust provided to the ship. The ship is expected to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 7% -16%, depending on the shipping route and other conditions.

According to Mitsui's "Environmental Vision 2.2" plan, the company plans to deploy the wind assisted propulsion system "Wind Challenger" for its 25 ships by 2030, and for its 80 ships by 2035. Mitsui International's goal is to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and the number of net zero emission ships in its fleet will reach 130 by 2035.

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