Finnish wind propulsion systems provider Norsepower on Tuesday (15 April) said it has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement with China’s COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Equipment (Nantong) (CHIC) to accelerate the serial production, sales, installation, and service of Norsepower Rotor Sails™ in the region.

The partnership builds on the Norsepower Rotor Sail™ Factory in Dafeng, China, launched in November last year. Norsepower said this is the 'world’s first' factory specialising in rotor sail manufacturing, which guarantees the needed capacity in serial production of Norsepower’s products. 

“Combined with this factory and Norsepower’s exclusive production hub in Poland, the new cooperation with CHIC strengthens the company’s ability to meet growing global demand,” the company said in a statement. 

By leveraging CHIC’s extensive resources in shipbuilding and offshore equipment, the collaboration will drive innovation in wind propulsion and further integrate Norsepower Rotor Sails™ into the regional market. The partnership aims to provide shipping companies with practical, cost-effective solutions to reduce fuel consumption and emissions in line with tightening IMO regulations.

Heikki Pöntynen, CEO of Norsepower, said: “This agreement marks a significant step forward in expanding access to wind propulsion solutions in China. By combining Norsepower’s technology leadership with CHIC’s shipbuilding expertise, we are creating a strong foundation for advancing sustainable shipping.”

“We will achieve breakthroughs in both product supply efficiency and application expansion. We look forward to building on this collaboration and exploring further opportunities together.”

Zhang Jianxin, Deputy General Manager of CHIC, said: “We are excited to partner with Norsepower to advance wind propulsion technology. This cooperation will enhance innovation across product design, manufacturing, and business development, ensuring we deliver high-quality, energy-efficient solutions for the shipping industry.”

With increasing regulatory pressure to decarbonise shipping, Norsepower’s partnership with CHIC underscores the growing momentum behind wind propulsion. By combining expertise and resources, both companies are committed to accelerating the adoption of sustainable products and supporting the industry’s transition to a low-carbon future.

Photo credit: Norsepower
Published: 16 April, 2025

Players within the maritime sector are operating at different levels of readiness in preparation for IMO 2030/2050 and other emissions regulations even though deadlines and goals are clear, observes an industry expert from classification society DNV.

Dr Shahrin Osman, Director, Maritime Decarbonization and Smart Shipping Centre of Excellence (Singapore/Asia Pacific), Maritime Advisory noted the shipping sector being at a critical crossroads, with significant variations in technological readiness and strategic planning amongst different organisations.

“The shipping industry is really fragmented now, so you could not really size up its overall progress on decarbonisation to a certain state,” he told delegates during The Maritime Energy Mix panel discussion session at Sea Asia 2025.

“We have organisations such as MOL that are a lot more advanced in terms of their planning and decision making, while also having the organisation capability to analyse and make decisions.

“Unfortunately, a lot of organizations are not like MOL that are so advanced.”

As such, Dr Shahrin explained the need for tailored decarbonisation plans for each organisation and emphasised the need for expert advice and collaboration to make informed investment decisions in decarbonisation technologies.

He advised stakeholders to refer to DNV’s latest report Energy-efficiency measures and technologies – Key solutions and strategies for Maritime’s decarbonization journey that provides a comprehensive overview of more than 40 energy-efficiency measures, detailing their fuel-saving effects, cost figures, and suitability for specific ship types.

“It's about planning, analysing and taking actions now and that is something that we can do for all shipowners,” shared Dr Shahrin.

“If all shipowners adopted energy efficiency technologies, we can save about 16% on bunker fuel and this saving is equivalent to 2,500 very large vessels or 55,000 small and medium vessels. That is a huge amount of savings that we can achieve just by working together.”

However, he noted data from Clarkson indicating the uptake of emissions reduction technologies by shipowners and operators to be still “very limited”.

“It's not easy, because every investment will be between half a million to 1 million to introduce some of these technologies. Investments for Wind Assisted Propulsion is even worse and you are looking at maybe three to 6 million, but the savings are significant,” noted Dr Shahrin.

“You will need to have that expert advice and input to be able to go to the board or CFO to ask for that investment.

“Decarbonisation between shipping firms is fragmented with each facing different maturity and financial capability. Each shipowner needs to have their own action plan and seek advice from a professional if you do not have your own inhouse expertise.”

Related: DNV launches new report on energy-efficiency measures and technologies for shipowners

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 4 April 2025

The application of wind propulsion on vessels is now reaching a tipping point in the shipping industry, a major industry conference heard on Wednesday (26 March).

BAR Technologies has seen a surge in enquiries from shipowners seeking to adopt the technology in the past 12 months and this is set to intensify in the next couple of years, according to John Cooper, the company's Chief Executive Officer.

He was speaking on a panel, Sails to Solutions: Collaborative Pathways in Wind Propulsion for Modern Shipping during the 'Accelerating Digitalisation and Decarbonisation Conference' during Singapore Maritime Week (SMW 2025).

BAR Technologies is the supplier of WindWings® – a rigid sail technology that uses wind propulsion to deliver average daily savings of 1.5 tonnes of fuel per wing and 4.6 tonnes of CO2 per wing on typical global routes. 

Also on the panel was Bhuvnesh Dogra, Head of Technical for the Owners Union Maritime, which is working with BAR Technologies to fit WindWings® on up to 30 of its new ships on order.

Cooper said: “The Union Maritime vessels are being built in eight different yards currently so it's a very busy time for BAR Technologies. We are pleased with the progress we are making in our work for Union Maritime.

“There's no doubt wind has reached its tipping point, and more and more owners are coming to us, coming to the industry, to talk about our products and talk about how we can do our best to help them in decarbonisation.”

Dogra added: "As owners, we have examined various technologies and means to control emissions. After looking at the various technologies, we came to the conclusion that WindWings® is one of the technologies which is going to take us very quickly towards succeeding in carbon reduction. Working closely with BAR Technologies, as the industry leader, has been very important for us.

“We are convinced that WindWings® is the technology which is going to produce the best results for efficient and cost-effective shipping.”

Cooper also addressed the issues of supply and performance guarantees during the panel discussion.

The ability of yards to build sufficient numbers of WindWings® sails to meet demand has been a question for a while.

He said: “There will be a surge in demand for the equipment, which we can see from our inquiry levels. But we are ready. We have a tie up with China Merchants Energy Tech in China and their production line has plenty of capacity in place.

“China Merchants has invested a huge amount in our product, and they're currently making 10 at a time. They can make over 50 in a year, and they can double the size of the production line, so they'll be into the hundreds.”

He rejected suggestions a lack of supply may be a problem for the industry and added that BAR Tech have the ability to ramp up production.  

“We have also cracked the issue of lead times. Our original 37.5m wing is available 8 months from order, and our newly developed and launched 20 & 24m wings are available in 7 months.”

He noted the Chinese yards could produce 100 units a year quite soon and that retrofit times were getting shorter and inside a normal drydock survey window.

Cooper said the technology enabled BAR Technologies to provide performance guarantees.

“I want our clients to have a performance guarantee. We know exactly what the thrust of the wings will be. There's no risk for us and there's no performance risk to our clients.

“I encourage this great industry of ours to move forward with a little bit of collaboration to show the owners how much thrust they're going to get and actually come to a logical conclusion on how we're going to get the performance they need.”

Photo credit: BAR Technologies
Published: 1 April, 2025