On October 28, UHI ENERGY TRANSPORTATION LIMITED and CSIC (China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation) Shanghai Marine Energy Saving Technology Development Co., Ltd (CMES-Tech) signed an EPC contract for the installation of rotor sails on the “Yuedian 83” at the 702nd Research Institute of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. This signing marked the birth of the first commercial order for the installation of domestically produced wind-powered propulsion rotors (rotor sails) on a real ship.
It is understood that after more than ten years of technical research, the 702 Research Institute and the CMES-Tech team have completed the product development of large-scale rotor sails, and various technical indicators have reached the international advanced level. This signing marks that the domestic rotor sail technology has moved from the theoretical research and prototype stage to the broad field of actual commercial application.
UHI ENERGY TRANSPORTATION LIMITED is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guangdong Energy Group in Hong Kong. It has long been committed to the green operation and refined management of large bulk carriers. It is a shipping company with a strong sense of mission and responsibility for energy conservation and emission reduction in shipping. For the “Yuedian 83” project, the company invited well-known domestic and foreign ship energy-saving companies to participate in the bidding through bidding. After several months of fierce competition, CMES-Tech won with its excellent and reliable energy-saving effect and superior comprehensive guarantee capabilities.
According to previous reports, the rotor sail has a diameter of 5m, a maximum sustainable operating speed of 180 RPM with a maximum thrust of more than 300kN. The system is equipped with a movable mechanism and can fully adapt to the loading and unloading operations of 80,000-ton bulk carriers.
The “Yuedian 83” belongs to UHI ENERGY TRANSPORTATION LIMITED. It is a bulk carrier registered in Hong Kong, China and classed by the Lloyd’s Register. It has a total empty ship weight of 14,755 tons and a deadweight of 87,329 tons.
It is reported that CMES-Tech’s domestically produced wind-powered propulsion rotors can effectively solve the bottleneck problem of energy conservation and emission reduction and carbon intensity rating improvement for transport ships of 80,000 tons and above. After installing two sets of rotor sails, the “Yuedian 83” can achieve energy saving effects of 5%-8% depending on the route conditions, and is expected to save about 2 tons of fuel per day, reducing marine greenhouse gas emissions by 1,600 tons per year.