Socatra chooses Norsepower sails for MR tanker
The tanker will be retrofitted with two 35m x 5m Norsepower Rotor Sails (Source: Norsepower)
French tanker owner and RoRo operator, Socatra, has signed a contract for Norsepower Rotor SailTM installations on board its 50,000dwt medium-range (MR) product tanker, Alcyone. The 2022-built tanker, on charter to TotalEnergies, is to have two 35m x 5m rotor sails supplied by Norsepower’s new production facility in China. The retrofit will take place during the final quarter of this year or the first quarter of 2023, the company said.
Average fuel and emission savings of 8% are likely as the ship sails between South Korea and French Polynesia. Further savings are possible by using voyage optimisation technology, the company said. Noting that Socatra is the company’s first French client, Norsepower CEO, Tuomas Riski, said: “The Norsepower Rotor Sail is particularly well-suited to tankers, with a strong track record of proven performance. This is why we are confident that we can achieve at least 8% fuel consumption saving, based on existing data and projections, ensuring Socatra lead the way for more planet-positive operations for others in the oil industry.”
Socatra CEO, Laurent Bozzoni, commented: “We are pleased to be working with Norsepower to accelerate this transition and minimise our environmental footprint. The Norsepower Rotor Sail is widely recognised as a proven solution for seagoing vessels, and we believe that our MR tanker, Alcyone, will benefit from significant efficiency gains and help us reduce our CO2 emissions. Speaking for the charterer, TotalEnergies’ SVP, Shipping, Jérome Cousin, revealed that the success of the project could lead to broader adoption of wind-assisted propulsion by the energy company. “The installation of two Norsepower Rotor Sails on Alcyone contributes to TotalEnergies’ net zero ambition by providing an immediate reduction of the carbon footprint of our shipping activities. We reaffirm our commitment to promoting innovative solutions for more sustainable shipping and actively support the deployment of the most promising technologies.”
