Giant NSU ore carrier retrofitted with Anemoi rotor sails

Photo: Anemoi

NSU Tubarao, a 400,000 DWT ore carrier owned and operated by Japan’s NS United Kaiun Kaisha Ltd. has become the fourth VLOC chartered by Brazilian mining giant Vale International to be fitted with Anemoi rotor sails.

“The scale of this project shows the market’s growing confidence in wind power as a crucial enabler of lower emission shipping,” says Anemoi CEO Clare Urmston. “Working with progressive partners like NSU, Vale and Class NK, we are able to advance Rotor Sail technology and show how optimizing propulsion integration and navigation for wind assistance can deliver even greater benefits.”

“At NSU we aim to support our stakeholders with the world’s most efficient ship,” says Toru Fujita, director and managing executive officer at NSU. “The rotor sails on NSU Tubarao, and the advanced systems that will help maximize its fuel-saving potential, are a perfect example of those efforts”

NSU Tubarao is a 361 meter long, 65 meter beam very large ore carrier delivered in September 2020. With a deadweight tonnage of 399,717, it is amongst the largest bulk carriers in the world. The five rotor sails retrofitted on the giant vessel are 35 meters tall and 5 meters in diameter.

The completion of the installation of the five rotor sails on the five-year-old vessel took the total tonnage installed with Anemoi’s rotor sails to more than 1.6 million DWT

The rotor sail installation on NSU Tubarao was completed during scheduled drydocking in October in Zhoushan Xinya Shipyard Co. Ltd, China. The rotor sails are deployed using a folding (tilting) mechanism for flexibility during cargo handling.

NSU has taken an industry-leading approach by combining rotor sails with advanced digital solutions that optimize power usage and vessel routing, including Manta Marine Technologies’ FuelOpt for power management of the main engine and NAPA’s voyage optimization toolbox for voyage planning to maximise the benefits of favorable winds without compromising departure or arrival times.

During the scheduled special survey, NSU Tubarao was also equipped with a new shaft generator designed to enhance the efficiency of the vessel. This upgrade not only improves the vessel’s own energy performance but also optimizes fuel consumption when operating the rotor sails.

Anemoi says that it successfully integrated its rotor sail technology with the vessel’s shaft generator through advanced control system integration, ensuring seamless coordination between wind propulsion and onboard power supply.