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Viking Grace now first passenger ship equipped with rotor sail

Written by Nick Blenkey
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Norsepower rotor sail installed on Viking Grace is 24 m in height and 4 m in diameter

APRIL 11, 2018 — Finnish operator Viking Line’s LNG fueled cruise ferry Viking Grace has become even more environmentally friendly: she is now the first passenger ship in the world equipped with a rotor sail to harness wind power for propulsion.

Developed by Finnish clean technology and engineering company Norsepower Oy Ltd., the rotor sail solution will cut fuel consumption and reduce carbon emissions by up to 900 tonnes annually.

Viking Line will operate the Viking Grace on wind-assisted voyages between Turku (Finland) and Stockholm (Sweden) from April 12, 2018.

The cylindrical rotor sail unit installed on Viking Grace is 24 m in height and 4 m in diameter, and is a modernized version of the Flettner rotor; a spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus effect to harness wind power to propel a ship.

The Norsepower solution is fully automated and senses whenever the wind is strong enough to deliver fuel savings, at which point the rotors start automatically.

The use of wind power reflects the green values of Viking Line. The natural environments of the sea and the archipelago are close to the heart of the shipping company, which is based in the Åland Islands.

“This is a great day for us,” says Jan Hanses, CEO, Viking Line. “As an Åland shipping company, we rely on the sea for our livelihood so it’s of prime importance for us to promote the well-being of the marine environment. We want to pioneer the use of solutions that reduce the environmental load. Based in Finland, Norsepower has developed a world-class mechanical rotor sail solution that will reduce fuel consumption. We are proud of the fact that our Viking Grace will be the first passenger ship in the world to benefit from this innovative solution.”

The basic design and idea of the Flettner rotor has been around for over 90 years. However, with the rise of environmental regulations, the concept of rotor sails has gained much interest in the global maritime community. This has been further fueled by advances in manufacturing, material and technology. Norsepower is a leader in this space and is recognised as the first commercial provider of auxiliary wind propulsion for shipping.

Tuomas Riski, CEO of Norsepower said: “For Norsepower, it’s an honor to contribute to making the M/S Viking Grace even more environmentally-friendly by means of our novel rotor sail technology. The last traditional windjammers in the world were owned and operated by shipping companies based in Åland, so it’s only fitting that Åland-based Viking Line should be a forerunner in launching modern auxiliary sail technology. Viking Line and Norsepower have collaborated in an excellent manner in retrofitting the Rotor Sail solution on the Viking Grace, and the completion of this project is a great moment for all those involved.”

In addition to the installation onboard the M/S Viking Grace, Viking Line will also install two Norsepower rotor sails onboard a newbuild cruise ferry vessel which is currently being built by China’s Xiamen Shipbuilding and which is due to be operational in 2020.

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One Response to “Viking Grace now first passenger ship equipped with rotor sail”

May 16, 2019 at 12:43 pm, Tests on Viking Grace confirm rotor sail's fuel saving potential - Marine Log said:

[…] was retrofitted with a 24 m high, 4 m diameter Norsepower rotor sail a little over a year ago (see earlier story). The sail is a modernized version of the Flettner rotor; a spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus […]

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