Japan Launches Eco-Friendly Coal Carrier with Wind Sail
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has taken delivery of Maizuru Kazenomai, Japan’s first coal carrier fitted with the Wind Challenger hard sail. The naming and delivery ceremony was held at Oshima Shipbuilding’s yard in Japan. The ship has been built for Kansai Electric Power and will carry coal to its Maizuru Power Plant in Kyoto Prefecture, on Japan’s Sea of Japan coast.
The vessel has LNG dual-fuel engines. Compared with a ship burning heavy fuel oil, using LNG is expected to lower greenhouse gas and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and sharply reduce sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions. Together with the sail, the ship’s CO2 emissions are expected to fall by up to about 30%.
Wind Challenger is a rigid sail developed jointly by MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding. It uses the wind to push the ship forward, so the main engine needs less power. The first ship with the system, the bulk carrier Shofu Maru, entered service in 2022, and MOL has since planned the sail for other ship types, including LNG carriers.
Coal carriers serving Japanese power plants run regular routes, which makes them well suited to testing how much fuel wind assistance saves over time.
Ships that combine sails and LNG fuel bring new duties on board, from operating sail controls in changing winds and in port to handling LNG bunkering and gas safety. Deck officers and engineers joining such vessels will need type-specific training and proper familiarisation before taking charge of these systems.
