First Rotor Sail Viking Grace trip

The vessel, in service from 2013, currently runs on traditional heavy fuel oil, diesel or liquefied natural gas (LNG) and from this month will use the Rotor Sail Solution to cut fuel consumption and reduce carbon emissions by up to 900t annually as it carries out wind-assisted voyages between Turku, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden.

Jan Hanses, CEO at Viking Line, said: “We want to pioneer the use of solutions that reduce the environmental load. Based in Finland, Norsepower has developed a world-class mechanical Rotor Sail Solution that will reduce fuel consumption. We are proud of the fact that our Viking Grace will be the first passenger ship in the world to benefit from this innovative solution.”

Fully automated

The 24m high, 4m wide cylindrical Rotor Sail unit installed on the Viking Grace is a modernised version of the Flettner rotor; a spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus effect to harness wind power to propel a ship. The solution is fully automated and senses whenever the wind is strong enough to deliver fuel savings, at which point the rotors start automatically to optimise crew time and resource.

Viking Line will also install two Norsepower Rotor Sails onboard a cruise ferry vessel which is currently being built in China and due to be operational in 2020.