Oldendorff and Norsepower have announced an agreement to use Norsepower Rotor Sails to further reduce CO2 emissions on a modern bulk carrier, the ‘Dietrich Oldendorff’.
Oldendorff had previously announced its decision to add wind assisted propulsion to the vessel which is contracted to be employed on a North Pacific trade route to Asia.
The Norsepower Rotor Sail is a modernised, digital-era version of the Flettner rotor. It uses a minimal amount of the ship’s electric power to actively rotate the cylinder-shaped rotors on the ship’s deck. Rotation, together with wind, packs the air behind the sail and creates additional thrust – saving fuel and reducing emissions. The spinning rotors are partly manufactured from about 342,000 recycled plastic bottles.
The sail design has been in use for about 10 years and has more than 310,000 operating hours on ships, delivering over 21,000t of CO2 emissions reduction so far. The installation on the Dietrich Oldendorff will take place in mid-2024.
Torsten Barenthin, Director of Research and Development, Oldendorff, said: “We are extremely excited about reducing fuel consumption and emissions by harnessing the power of the wind with Norsepower Rotor Sails, a proven energy-saving product.”
Tuomas Riski, CEO Norsepower, added: “Oldendorff is a dream customer for Norsepower in more than one way: a family-owned, legendary, company with over 100 years operating in the industry and around 700 vessels on the water today. Oldendorff is making green shipping a reality today and is the best partner we could have on our journey towards the zero-carbon industry. I wholeheartedly welcome Oldendorff’s commitment to Norsepower’s mission of decarbonising shipping and look forward to the next possibilities for cooperation.”
Image: ‘Dietrich Oldendorff’ with rotor sails (source: Norsepower/Blue Comms)
