IINO Kaiun Kaisha and Electric Power Development (J-POWER) have agreed to install the rotor sail (wind propulsion auxiliary device) manufactured by Norsepower on the dedicated coal carrier YODOHIME (completed in February 2016).

This is the world’s first case of the Norsepower Rotor Sail (earlier post) on a dedicated coal carrier, and the installation will take place in Q3 2024.

The Norsepower Rotor Sail (24m high x 4m diameter) is a modernized version of the Flettner rotor—a spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus effect—a commonly observed effect in which a spinning ball or cylinder in this case curves away from its principal path to harness wind power to thrust a ship. These rotating sails use the wind to generate powerful thrust, resulting in reduction of fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions by approximately 6-10% in combination with the navigation optimization system.

This is the second vessel for IINO LINES following a Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) to be equipped with two Norsepower Rotor Sails. This is the second installation of a wind propulsion auxiliary system on a dedicated coal carrier by J-POWER; the company agreed with Japan’s K-Line in March 2023 to install the Seawing automated kite system on the coal carrier Corona Citrus.