MOL, J-Power to retrofit a coal carrier with rigid sail

Japanese shipping firm Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and power generation company Electric Power Development (J-Power) have agreed to retrofit a coal carrier with a hard sail wind power propulsion system.

PHOTO: CG rendering of the Kurotakisan Maru III retrofitted with the rigid sail. MOL

The coal carrier, Kurotakisan Maru III, will be retrofitted with a hard sail wind power propulsion system, which uses rigid sails to harness wind energy for vessel propulsion. The system has been developed by MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding.

It helps to reduce a vessel's fuel consumption, MOL claims.

The operation will mark the world's first wind-assisted propulsion system retrofit on an in-service vessel, MOL says. The vessel is used to carry steaming coal to J-Power's power stations

The retrofit is slated for the latter part of 2025.

By Tuhin Roy

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