World’s largest short-sea RO/RO to add rotor sails

Rendering of M.V. Delphine after rotor sail retrofit. [Image copyright HR Wallingford www.hrwallingford.com]

Under an agreement reached by rotor sail specialist Norsepower Oy and logistics specialist CLdN, two 35 meters tall by 5 meters diameter tilting rotor sails will be fitted on the 2018-built M/V Delphine by December this year.

At the time of contract signing, this will be the seventh vessel to be installed with Norsepower’s rotor sails and the third installation with the tilting function.

With a cargo capacity of close to 8,000 lane meters, the M/V Delphine operates between the U.K., Ireland and mainland Europe and is said to be the world’s largest short-sea RO/RO.

Norsepower estimates that its technology will achieve a fuel and emission reduction savings of between 7 to 10% for the vessel, depending on the route.

“Seeing the interest grow in our tilting rotor sail design demonstrates how the industry is looking for proven, flexible solutions to lower carbon emissions and reduce fuel costs across a range of vessel sizes and operations,” says Norsepower CEO Tuomas Riski. “Norsepower’s Rotor Sail installation on the M/V Delphine demonstrates how the use of clean technology can modernize and evolve the performance of fleets’ younger vessels to manage emissions and help to increase asset value. With fuel becoming increasingly expensive, making savings will also have a huge impact on commercial success. Working with CLdN and its ambitious team is an opportunity to demonstrate what our technology has to offer to continue strengthening the environmental and commercial performance of its fleet.”

Gary Walker, COO shipping, CLdN, added: “In 2021, CLdN announced it is the top performer among its RO/RO shipping peers in Northwest Europe for CO2 emissions per tonne of freight carried. By investing in technologically advanced ships and terminals, CLdN enables its customers to improve their carbon footprint and support them at the same time in making their supply chains more efficient and robust. This demand for cleaner shipping is growing and we are committed to making measurable progress. Installing two of Norsepower’s rotor sails will maximize our fuel and emissions savings on the M/V Delphine, and this pilot project will help determine how the rotor sail technology could be rolled out on the current CLdN fleet and our new-build vessels. We look forward to the installation and subsequent results.”

The Norsepower solution is fully automated and detects whenever the wind is strong enough to deliver fuel and emission savings, at which point the rotor sails start automatically.