According to Johan Mattsson, CEO of Wallenius Marine, the initiative reflects the company’s ambition to turn promising technologies into practical solutions for everyday shipping operations.

“We are convinced that wind propulsion will play an important role in the future of shipping. By fitting wing sails to the WAY FORWARD, we can gain practical experience whilst taking another step towards reducing emissions from our fleet,” says Johan Mattsson, CEO of Wallenius Marine.

WAY FORWARD is designed to minimise energy consumption through an optimised hull design and a dual-fuel propulsion system capable of operating on both liquid and gaseous fuels, including biofuels. The wing sails add another component to the vessel’s energy-efficiency strategy.

“The installation will provide valuable insights into how wind propulsion can be integrated into future vessel designs and day-to-day operations. The lessons learned will support the development of even more energy-efficient ships,” says Johan Mattsson.

Amrit Kaur Bhullar, CEO of Oceanbird, takes a positive view of developments in wind-powered shipping.

“We, at Oceanbird, are delighted to see wind propulsion solutions gaining momentum not only among shipowners, but also with charterers. Wallenius, one of our owners, has long been a pioneer in sustainable shipping, and we are proud to be installing our technology on one of their vessels. Forward-thinking companies such as Wallenius and Volkswagen Konzernlogistik are helping drive the transition to truly green shipping, and we are honoured to play a role in that journey.” says Amrit Kaur Bhullar, CEO Oceanbird.

The LNG dual-fuel WAY FORWARD and its sister vessel FUTURE WAY, each with a CEU capacity of 6,631, are designed by Knud E. Hansen and was built at CIMC Raffles in China.

© Shippax