ZEABORN’s first vessel retrofitted with Rotor Sails starts operational trials
Improving a ship’s environmental impact and energy efficiency is nowadays of paramount importance. We are therefore happy to have the opportunity of managing the Anemoi-Tufton Rotor Sails project, and to test the results day by day.
Supervised by our team from BestShip – our daughter company-, we installed Anemoi’s first Rotor Sails prototype on Tufton’s Kamsarmax Bulk Carrier, the “TR Lady”. Thanks to Captain Vladyslav Naidenko’s assistance all the way through the installation process, the implementation of the rotors during the maiden voyage and daily reports helped us monitor the development of this new technology, having a significant reduction of energy consumption. Through this testing period, the support of the captain and the crew are proving to be of great importance. We wish MV TR Lady and her crew fair and strong winds for their next voyage to Spain,
The vessel was retrofitted by three 5×24 Rotor Sails -also known as “Flettner rotors”, which are vertical cylinders that, during rotation, harness the power of the wind to provide additional forward thrust. The three rotors are located between the hatches on the rail system, allowing them to move laterally to facilitate port operations, whereas during the voyage they are locked in center position. This way, the thrust generated by the sails will ease the main engine load and the engine will have less fuel consumption. These highly efficient mechanical sails take advantage of the aerodynamic phenomena called the Magnus Effect to provide TR Lady with significant fuel and emissions savings.
We would also like to congratulate Anemoi Marine Technologies Ltd (“Anemoi”) and Tufton on their nomination for the 2023 Retrofit Project of the Year Award, and we are happy to keep supporting our clients towards reaching decarbonization goals.
Andrew Hampson, CEO of Tufton: “We and our investors are committed to shipping’s decarbonization journey and believe wind propulsion is a key enabler in helping Tufton reach its 2050 net zero goals. We are very proud to have been able to support this innovative application of decarbonization technology on the TR Lady.”
