First LNG Carrier with Two Wind Sails Named Ahead of Commissioning
Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines celebrated the naming of the first LNG carrier fitted with wind sails, which is also the first vessel to be fitted with two of the sails. The vessel, named Fujin Sailor, was built at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje, South Korea, shipyard and, when delivered at the end of the month, will begin operating under a long-term charter to Chevron.
Development of the ship required a collaborative effort between MOL, Chevron, and Hanwha Ocean to address the unique challenges of fitting the sails to an LNG carrier. They had previously highlighted that for tradability, the installation position of the Wind Challenger rigid sails aims to minimize impact on the existing design of membrane-type LNG carriers. They said it would enable the unchanged retention of the existing mooring arrangement and thereby minimize impacts on ship-to-shore compatibility, together with limited impact on the vessel's windage area.
It is the first application of a design concept that was approved in 2024 after MOL and its partners 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 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.
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 and is also fitted with air lubrication for the hull and shaft generators. The telescoping rigid sails are made of fiber-reinforced plastic. Each sail consists of three panels and, when fully extended, stands approximately 49 meters (160 feet) above the deck near the bow of the ship. Each is about 15 meters (49 feet) in width. The first images of the ship appeared in May as it was outfitting after the sails were installed.
It is the fourth vessel that MOL was outfitted with its wind sails, after two coal carriers and a bulker. Plans call for a second, similarly sized, LNG carrier to be delivered later this year, also fitted with two Wind Challenger sails. It will be operating under charter to Tokyo LNG Tanker Co., a subsidiary of Tokyo Gas. The vessel is also being built by Hanwha Ocean at the same shipyard.
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MOL has currently committed to installing the Wind Challenger rigid sail on a total of 11 vessels. It has also ordered six bulk carriers, each to be fitted with one rigid sail. They are being built by Japan’s Oshima Shipbuilding Co.
It is a further demonstration of the growing trend to leverage wind-assisted propulsion more broadly in commercial shipping and in more categories of ships. Maersk and Anemoi Marine Technologies recently agreed to the first test of a wind rotor aboard a containership. That installation is scheduled for mid-2027.
