Mitsui OSK Lines is to launch a research and development project into a crane-mounted wind-assisted propulsion solution with Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., and Japanese crane manufacturer, Iknow Machinery Co., Ltd.
The ‘Delta Sail’ project aims to generate additional propulsion force by unfurling sails fitted to existing cargo handling cranes during transit.
MOL Drybulk operates a large number of vessels equipped with cargo handing cranes, and the company plans to study the installation of the Delta Sail on a broad range of ship types, such as bulkers, wood chip carriers, and multi-purpose vessels.
The joint R&D project, which also includes MOL Drybulk, Ltd., forms part of MOL’s wider decarbonisation strategy, and represents the company’s second wind-assisted propulsion related project after the Wind Challenger hard sail wind-assisted propulsion system.
MOL placed an order for the first vessel equipped with the Wind Challenger system with Oshima Shipbuilding in December 2020, a 99,000 dwt coal carrier, as reported by The Motorship.
While Iknow Machinery does not currently offer any wind-assisted propulsion solutions in its portfolio, it previously gained experience of the operation of a hard sail system during its participation in a Japanese academic-industry research project, which subsequently evolved into the Wind Challenger hard sail wind-assisted propulsion system.
