Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has announced that the coal carrier SHOFU MARU – the world’s first cargo vessel to be equipped with a Wind Challenger hard sail – has been delivered on 7 October and is set to start operations.
Wind Challenger hard sail
The SHOFU MARU will be used to transport coal from Australia, Indonesia, and North America as a dedicated vessel for Tohoku Electric Power Co. According to MOL, the Wind Challenger system is expected to reduce the vessel’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by about 5% on a Japan-Australia voyage and about 8% on a Japan-North America West Coast voyage, compared to a conventional vessel of the same type.
The Wind Challenger system, which uses a telescoping hard sail to harness wind power and save on fuel, was developed by MOL and Oshima Shipping with other partners.
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Source: MOL
