Barely launched, the “Stena Connecta” is about to take another important step in its outfitting: As has now been announced, the new RoRo ship will be fitted with two rotor sails.
The Swedish shipping company Stena Line has placed a corresponding order with the manufacturer Norsepower.
The “world’s leading supplier of wind propulsion systems” is to supply two 28 x 4 m rotor sails (NPRS) for the new methanol-hybrid RoRo ship “Stena Connecta”, which was recently launched in China.
The 147 m ship, currently under construction at the Jinling Weihai shipyard in China, is expected to save up to 9% fuel on its planned route. Delivery is scheduled for the 4th quarter of this year. The shipping company intends to deploy the newbuild in the Irish Sea between Belfast and Heysham, “where the wind conditions are very favorable for wind-assisted propulsion”, according to the press release.
Rotor sails for Stena are built in China
The sister ship “Stena Futura” is currently being fitted out. The two RoRo vessels are expected to increase freight capacity on the route by 40% to meet growing customer demand for services between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
Stena Line’s strategic goal is to switch to renewable fuels, including securing future e-methanol volumes. The choice of wind propulsion technologies is a good complement in the drive to decarbonize shipping operations.
“We are honored to partner with Stena Line, a company that has always been at the forefront of innovation in sustainable shipping,” says Heikki Pöntynen, CEO of Norsepower. Dennis Tetzlaff, Chief Operating Officer Fleet at Stena Line, added: “These sails will use wind energy to provide the ship with auxiliary power, reducing fuel consumption and emissions. Innovations like this are key to future-proofing our ships and achieving our emissions targets.”
The sister is to be delivered “rotor-sail ready”. To minimize the environmental impact during the execution phase of the project, the NPRSs will be manufactured at Norsepower’s new production facility in Yancheng, China, and delivered directly to the shipyard.
