Oldendorff to use Norsepower’s rotor sails on vessel

German bulk carrier company Oldendorff has become the latest ship operator to embrace a resurgence in wind propulsion technology with a contract with Norsepower to fit three rotor sails to one of its vessels.

Oldendorff will fit the 24m x 4m rotors to the Dietrich Oldendorff to create fuel savings and reduce emissions by assisting the vessel’s conventional engines with power generated by the technology’s cylinder-shaped rotors.

While Norsepower’s product has been used for a decade, it has recently ramped up production after raising €28m ($30m) in Series C funding in early 2023.

Installation of the Dietrich Oldendorff’s rotors, which are partly manufactured from plastic bottles, will happen in Q2 of 2024 when the vessel will continue on its contracted route across the North Pacific to Asia.