On September 23rd, the 400,000 DWT very large ore carrier (VLOC) SOHAR MAX berthed smoothly at No.6 wharf of COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Zhoushan), which would start a rotor sail retrofitting project.
SOHAR MAX is 360 meters in length and 65 meters in breadth, and the main project of this VLOC is to retrofit 5 folding marine rotor sails as well as modify and upgrade the control system, etc. SOHAR MAX is the second vessel to be retrofitted with rotor sails after the retrofitting of “Camellia Dream”, and it is also the world’s largest tonnage ore carrier to be equipped with rotor sails at present.
Rotor sail is a device installed on the deck of a vessel to generate auxiliary thrust by utilizing offshore wind energy. The rotor sail has many advantages, such as good energy saving effect, intelligent operation, safety and reliability.
The rotor sail installed this time has advanced hydraulic folding and automatic mediation system. The rotor sail has an outer cylinder diameter of 5 meters, a top disc diameter of 9 meters, an overall height of 37.8 meters, which is equivalent to the height of a 12-story building, with a total tonnage of 135 tons and a maximum design speed of 200 rpm.
According to the estimation, after installing the rotor sail on SOHAR MAX, the annual energy saving effect is expected to be up to 6%, which is equivalent to the reduction of 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, and the effect of energy saving and emission reduction is very significant.
