Shipping: "Wärtsilä, Norsepower Team Up on Rotor Sails"

Wärtsilä makes scrubbers, they front for these Flettner rotors, they make some pretty sophisticated power and propulsion equipment, I don't understand why they don't make more money.

From gCaptain:

Photo: Norsepower Rotor Sails installed on board the Maersk Pelican tanker. Photo courtesy Wartsila/Norsepower

Finnish technology group Wärtsilä has teamed up with Finnish rotor sail propulsion specialist Norsepower to pursue energy-saving rotor sail projects in the commercial maritime industry.

The service cooperation agreement expands the global wind propulsion service network by allow Norsepower to order service work from Wärtsilä, while Wärtsilä can pursue and sell Norsepower Rotor Sail systems with support from Norsepower.

“With the growth of Norsepower’s manufacturing capacity and the anticipated increasing demand for its Rotor Sails, the collaboration will help the organization work at scale and further strengthen its customer service offering in cooperation with Wärtsilä’s global service network,” the companies said in a press release.

The main target of the agreement includes tankers, passenger ferries and cruise ships, as well as dry cargo vessels.

Since launching in 2014, Norsepower rotor sails have been installed on three vessels leading reduction of an estimated 5,000 tons of CO2 emissions, according to Norsepower. A fourth installation is already planned for 2020.

Norsepower’s Rotor Sail auxiliary propulsion system is a modernized version of the Flettner rotor; a spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus effect to harness wind power to propel a ship and enhance fuel-saving. The solution has also been independently verified to reduce fuel consumption by up to 20%.....MORE

Previously:
Dec. 2018 
Old School Wind Assisted Bulk Carrier Named ‘Ship of the Year’ at the Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Awards
August 2018 
Shipping: "Testing Begins On First Product Tanker Vessel Utilising Wind Propulsion Technology"
August 2018
Shipping: "More than 2000 vessels will get scrubbers before 2020"
...Unlike the scrubbers approach natural gas also reduces carbon dioxide emissions should such reductions become mandated.

I'm still pitching a return to cylindrical wind turbines:

but not getting a lot of enthusiasm from the industry. It might have something to do with 90-year old marketing materials. Maybe update the pics:

EShip 1 With Flettner Rotor (10,500 dwt)