Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Jotaro Tamura; Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo) today announced MOL and Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. (J-Power; Representative Director President: Hideaki Kato; Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo) have installed the Wind Challenger-a hard-sail wind propulsion system -on the Kurotakisan Maru III, a coal carrier supplying J Power operations.
This achievement marks the world's first retrofit installation of the Wind Challenger on a vessel currently in service. This is MOL's third Wind Challenger-equipped vessel, following the coal carrier Shofu Maru and the 64,000-DWT Ultramax bulk carrier Green Winds.
The Kurotakisan Maru III berthed at the Tachibanawan Thermal Power Station (Anan City, Tokushima Prefecture) on April 13, and at the Ishikawa Coal-Fired Power Station (Uruma City, Okinawa Prefecture) on April 17.
The Kurotakisan Maru III has drawn attention in the shipping industry for contributing to decarbonization while fulfilling a vital role in energy transport that supports local communities. It received a warm welcome from local stakeholders upon arrival at its unloading ports. The vessel is scheduled to operate on a long-term contract to transport thermal coal from overseas to multiple regions where J Power operates power plants and related facilities.
MOL has set the target of achieving net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 in the "MOL Group Environmental Vision: BLUE ACTION 2035 Phase 2." One of the main actions to achieve this target is the "introduction of further energy-saving technologies," and the group plans to launch 25 vessels equipped with the Wind Challenger by 2030, increasing to 80 by 2035.
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