MOL’s fuel saving PBCF sets Guinness World Record

PBCF installed on a propeller

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) reports that the propeller boss cap fin (PBCF) sold by its group company MOL Techno-Trade, Ltd. has been certified as the “Best-selling Energy-Saving Ship Appendage Brand (Cumulative)” by Guinness World Records and received an official certificate on December 23, 2021.

On sale since 1987, the PBCF was the first device in the world to be commercialized to recover the energy wasted in the vortex that forms behind a rotating propeller and increase the thrust by breaking up this vortex. Analysis has shown that equipping a vessel with PBCF results in energy savings of 3% to 5%.

In 2017, an upgraded PBCF, offering further improvements in energy-saving went on the market.

Orders reached 1,000 in 2006, 2,000 in 2011, and topped 3,000 in 2015.
By 2021, PBCF cumulative sales exceeded 3,800 (with the number of vessels equipped with PBCF exceeded 3,600).

“Even now, about 35 years after its launch, PBCF is still selling exceptionally well as an energy-saving device for ships and has established itself as a bestseller,” says MOL.

By improving fuel efficiency, the PBCF in turn reduces CO2 emissions from vessels and MOL Tech has calculated that the expanded use of PBCF has contributed to a cumulative 46-million-ton reduction in CO2 emissions worldwide.

MOL Group says that it continues to study hybrid combinations with other energy-saving devices such as stern fins, ducts and rudder bulbs and has confirmed the synergistic effects in tests using a model.