VESSEL REVIEW | Fujin Sailor – LNG carrier fitted with wind-assist propulsion
Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has introduced Fujin Sailor, a 174,000-cubic-metre (38.2-million-gallon) membrane-type LNG carrier built by Hanwha Ocean at its Geoje shipyard in South Korea.
According to MOL, no LNG carrier before has even been fitted with wind-assisted propulsion.
The vessel is owned by MOL Encean, an indirectly wholly owned MOL subsidiary, and is employed under a long-term charter to Chevron Asia Pacific Shipping. MOL Global Ship Management is the ship manager.
The Singapore-flagged ship has since entered service. Her port calls include Barrow Island in Australia and Sodegaura in Japan, and she departed Sodegaura on November 6 bound for Yeosu.
Fujin Sailor has an LOA of 294.9 metres (967.5 feet), a moulded beam of 46.4 metres (152 feet), a summer draught of 12.522 metres (41.083 feet), a gross tonnage of 116,660, a net tonnage of 34,998, and a deadweight of 93,353 tonnes.
The ship’s total fuel and freshwater tank capacities are 4,841.6 cubic metres (1.065 million gallons) and 505.6 cubic metres (111,200 gallons), respectively.
The ship is fitted with telescoping hard sails made of FRP. Each unit has three tiers, reaches up to 49 metres (160 feet) high and is approximately 15 metres (49 feet) wide.
The sails were developed jointly by MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding. They generate supplementary thrust through lift and drag, which reduces the load on the main engines. Sensors detecting wind speed and direction control the extension, retraction and rotation of the sails automatically.
Sail integration completed without compromising deck arrangement and carrying capacity
The sails extend in light winds. In stronger winds or worsening weather, they retract to lower the centre of gravity, and they can be set to a zero-lift angle to minimise resistance.
MOL's weather routing system incorporates sail thrust into its route recommendations and updates meteorological and oceanographic data every six hours. The company said crews need no specialist sailing skills to operate the system.
The ship has a navigation bridge enclosed on all sides and a lookout station on the foredeck to improve visibility. The sail locations preserve the existing mooring arrangement, with limited effects on ship–shore compatibility and windage area. MOL says the design can enter LNG terminals worldwide.
MOL's simulations gave annual average fuel savings of six to seven per cent on North America–Europe routes, with peak reductions of 12 per cent.
Dual-fuel propulsion coupled with emissions-reducing systems
Propulsion comes from two MAN ME-GA low-pressure dual-fuel engines, each rated 11,944 kW (16,017 hp) at 77.5 rpm, driving two propellers. The engines feature exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) to enable IMO Tier III compliance and cut methane slip by up to 50 per cent compared with two-stroke engines that lack EGR.
ClassNK records listed seven generators of 23,488 kVA, with four dual-fuel gensets fitted with selective catalytic reduction. An air lubrication system reduces hull friction with a layer of microbubbles while a shaft generator draws electricity from main engine power, which MOL said lowers fuel consumption and methane emissions.
The boilers were meanwhile supplied by Alfa Laval Qingdao.
Fujin Sailor is the fourth of 11 MOL group vessels fitted or scheduled to receive Wind Challenger. MOL plans to have 25 equipped vessels by 2030 and 80 by 2035.