Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and compatriot Oshima Shipbuilding have jointly obtained an approval in principle (AIP) from ClassNK for the design of a hard sail system. The system converts wind energy to propulsive force with a telescopic hard sail, and is part of the Wind Challenger Project that MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding are spearheading.
MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding now aim to launch a newbuilding vessel equipped with a hard sail, which would reduce the vessel’s greenhouse gas emissions by about 5% on a Japan-Australia voyage, and about 8% on Japan-North America West Coast voyage. The long-term goal is to develop vessels with multiple sails.
