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Chinese shipyard relay! Vale has welcomed the world's first "wind-driven" ore carrier

Published：2021.05.16 News Sources：Qingdao Gute Ship Supplies Co., Ltd. Views：

Chinese shipyard relay! Vale has welcomed the world's first "wind-driven" ore carrier

Built by New Era Shipbuilding, five rotor sails have been installed in the Zhoushan Pacific Ocean. Two Chinese shipyards have finally completed the whole project, and the Vale Ecological Shipping Program has welcomed the world's first and largest "Wind Power" bulk carrier.

The world's first ore carrier equipped with rotor sails was built and installed by a Chinese shipyard

In the coming days, Vale's chartered fleet will take delivery of the world's first very large ore carrier equipped with rotor sails, the company announced on May 14. The 325,000 DWT Guaibamax is fitted with five rotor sails, which will improve energy efficiency by up to 8 per cent and thereby reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 3,400 tonnes per year. If the trial proves effective, the technology is expected to be used on at least 40 per cent of the fleet, reducing emissions from Vale's iron ore transport by sea by nearly 1.5 per cent a year.

The project is being led by Vale and, in collaboration with Transocean Marine of Korea, the rotor sails will be installed on a very large ore carrier (VLOC) serving Vale. It is learnt that the ship is the latest 325000 dead weight ton VLOC "Sea Zhoushan" built by Jiangsu New Era Shipbuilding for the Korean shipowner Oceanian Shipping. It was just signed for delivery on April 22.

According to the understanding of the international ship network, this is the last of the six 325000 deadweight ton VLOC project built by the new era of the trans-oceanic Marine series. The series ship has a total length of 340 meters, a vertical length of 333.1 meters, a width of 62 meters, a depth of 29.5 meters, a structural draft of 21.4 meters, a deadweight of 325,000 tons, and has been classified by the Korea Classification Society (KR).

The Sea Zhoushan has been built with rotor sail technology in mind, with the Shanghai Ship Research and Design Institute responsible for ship design and rotor sail integration. Following construction, Sea Zhoushan completed the installation of rotor sails at Pacific Ocean Engineering (Zhoushan) Co., Ltd. This is the world's first project to install rotor sails on a very large ore carrier.

The Sea Zhoushan is expected to sail from China to Brazil in the next few days and then load its first iron ore at one of Vale's ports in Brazil, a journey that will take an average of 40 days.

Rodrigo Bermelho, Shipping Technology Manager at Vale, explained: "Our shipbuilding engineering team has been studying how wind driven technology can be applied to the business since 2016. We have collaborated with the Vale Institute of Technology, as well as with universities and laboratories in Brazil and Europe, through the 'Eco Shipping Programme'. The purpose of this project is to assess the optimal operating conditions for the use of rotor sail technology on our chartered ore vessels and to validate the advantages of this technology in terms of reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions."

The new ore craft "Sea Zhoushan", which was selected to install the rotor sails, took one year from the detailed design of the scheme to the fabrication and installation of the equipment. In addition to laboratory tests and numerical analysis, technicians have also studied the wind rise rate on the route from Brazil to China.

"We are finding that we have a competitive advantage over our competitors because the Brazilian to Asia route has a higher wind upturn rate than the Australia-Asia route." Bermelho added. He added that Vale has built 3D models for all its ports to analyse how ships are mooring. The rotor sails will be tilted to allow the shipper to operate. "The loading process will be uninterrupted." He said.

NorsePower develops technology for the world's largest sail-powered bulk carrier

The rotor sail technology was provided by Finnish manufacturer NorsePower, an offshore clean-technology research and development company that pioneered a modern upgrade of the rotor sail with assisted wind propulsion technology. This technology has been proven to reduce fuel consumption, fuel costs and carbon dioxide emissions, and when applied effectively, will drive a "low carbon future" for the shipping industry.

Rotor sail technology has been around since the 19th century, but it wasn't revived more effectively until the 1980s, and the application of the technology to large ships has only taken a few years. To date, NorsePower's rotor sail technology has been successfully installed on large passenger ships, cargo ships and oil tankers, including Scandlines' ferry "Copenhagen" which operates between Germany and Denmark. Maersk Pelican (Maersk Tankers), MS Estraden (Bore) and Viking Line (Viking Line) LNGC-powered large passenger ship Viking Grace.

Vale's Sea Zhoushan is the largest installation of NorsePower's rotor sail to date. According to Norsepower, rotor sails cost between 1 million and 4 million euros to install, depending on the ship's project size, with Vale's Guaibamax project costing several million euros.

The rotor sails installed on the Sea Zhoushan are cylindrical in shape. Each rotor sail is 4 meters in diameter and 24 meters high, which is equivalent to the height of a seven-story building. During operation, due to the Magnus effect, the rotor sails spin at different speeds depending on the ship's environment and operating conditions, creating a pressure differential that pushes the ship forward.

According to NorsePower, the system is fully automated and can be activated automatically based on whether the wind saves fuel consumption and emissions, and optimizes crew time and resources. At the same time, in order to facilitate cargo operations in the port, the rotor sail can be tilted through the hydraulic cylinder without affecting port loading and unloading.

Tuomas Riski, CEO of NorsePower, said: "We are delighted to be working with Vale to support them in maximising the propulsion power of wind to reduce carbon and other emissions and to protect the sustainability of the wider value chain. The five tilted rotor sails will allow Vale to maintain flexible cargo operations while also saving fuel and reducing emissions. The installation of our rotor sail on the first VLOC demonstrates that our technology can be used in a variety of operating conditions and ship types."

Vale has launched an "eco-shipping programme" to take delivery of the first bulk carrier equipped with air lubrication systems

The launch of the first ore carrier equipped with rotor sails is part of Vale's "eco-shipping initiative", launched by the company's shipping department, which aims to help the company meet the challenge of reducing carbon emissions, in line with the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) approach. Last year, Vale announced that it would invest at least $2 billion to achieve its goal of reducing emissions from Scope 1 and Scope 2 by 33 percent by 2030. Vale has also announced a 15% reduction in Range Three emissions from the value chain by 2035. Emissions from shipping are "range three" emissions, given that Vale does not own ships itself. These emission reduction targets are in line with the ambitious targets of the Paris Agreement.

In early June, Vale is expected to take delivery of the first Guaibamax equipped with air lubrication. The technology reduces water friction on the ship's hull by forming a layer of bubbles under the ship. According to conservative estimates, the technology will reduce fuel consumption by 5-8 per cent and is expected to reduce emissions from Vale's iron ore shipping by 4.4 per cent a year.

Vale has also been preparing for the introduction of Marine fuel alternatives. Dozens of second-generation VLCCs already in operation have been designed to accommodate a future LNG system, including an under-deck compartment to accommodate LNG tanks for the entire voyage. The eco-shipping program is developing multi-fuel tanks that will store and consume not only liquefied natural gas, but also methanol and ammonia.

Bermelho said the introduction of energy efficiency improvements such as rotor sails and air lubrication systems would reduce the need for Marine fuel per ship and promote the use of low-carbon fuels. Preliminary studies on the Guaibamax project reductions of up to 23 per cent by switching to LNG and as much as 40 to 80 per cent by switching to methanol and ammonia.

Vale has invested heavily in adopting new technologies and renewing its fleet to incorporate the most advanced technologies in energy efficiency and environmental innovation into its shipping. Starting in 2018, Vale will put 400, 000 tons of second-generation Valemax into operation; Starting in 2019, Vale will put another 325,000 tonnes of Guaibamax into operation. These ships are among the most energy-efficient in the world, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by up to 41% compared with the 180,000 tonne Capesize ships built in 2011.

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