First Installation of Solid Wind Sails on an LNG Carrier
Pictures recently appeared showing the first-ever installation of solid wind sails on an LNG carrier. Hanwha Ocean highlighted the vessel, which is nearing construction at its shipyard in South Korea, as part of a project for Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines.
MOL, working with Japanese shipbuilder Oshima Shipbuilding Company, commercialized the designs for a telescopic sail made of fiber-reinforced plastic and installed the first one on a coal carrier, which entered service in October 2022. It has continued to place the technology on bulker newbuilds and also retrofitted it on a vessel.
Working with Hanwha Ocean and ClassNK, MOL reported in 2024 that it had conducted a risk assessment that comprehensively evaluated factors such as the placement of the sails, their impact on visibility, emergency operation procedures, and other safety measures, to add the technology to an LNG carrier. It had also worked with GTT (Gaztransport et Technigaz), which holds the patents on the technology for the LNG tanks, for the evaluation of the impact on the cargo tank due to the sail installation. As a result, ClassNK awarded MOL the first AiP (Approval in Principle) for the designs to add sails to LNG carriers.
Hanwha reports it has successfully completed the world’s first installation of the Wind Challenger System on an LNG carrier. The ship was ordered in 2024 as part of an agreement between MOL and Chevron Shipping for an LNG carrier to be delivered in 2026. The vessel will be about 286 meters (938 feet) in length and will incorporate two Wind Challenger rigid sails.
The sails are in three panels, and when fully extended, stand approximately 49 meters (160 feet) above the deck near the bow of the ship. Each is about 15 meters (49 feet) in width.
The vessel is one of two that MOL reported would be proceeding with the first installations of the wind sail technology. It also announced in 2024 that it would incorporate the sails on another LNG carrier, which will be operated by MOL under a long-term charter to Tokyo LNG Tanker Company.
The vessel is 295 meters (968 feet) with a capacity for 174,000 cbm of LNG. It uses an Everllence (MAN Energy Solutions) main engine.
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These installations represent an expansion of wind-assisted propulsion, which has continued to draw interest from the shipping industry for the potential to reduce fuel emissions. According to MOL, the fuel savings for LNG carriers with two sails are expected to be up to 12 percent per voyage, depending on weather and sea conditions.
The first vessel will be delivered in the second half of FY2026. MOL says it can't wait to see the world's first dual Wind Challengers on the LNG vessels in action.