Swedish Oceanbird receives first order

An unnamed ship owner chose the joint venture between Swedish marine technology company Alfa Laval and shipping company Wallenius Lines to order two Oceanbird Wing 560 wing sails to install on an existing vessel.

The Wing560 Wing sails are tiltable and designed for pure car and truck carriers, bulk carriers and tankers over 200 metres.

Wind propulsion viable and scalable

Oceanbird CEO Amrit Kaur Bhullar said in press release “This is a proud moment for everyone involved. It proves that wind propulsion is not just a concept – it is a viable, scalable solution for sustainable shipping transportation,”

The system developed by Oceanbird consists of a fixed wing made up of two adjustable elements, which can also be folded down. An initial land-based test system has now been built in Karlskrona. Wing 560-wing sail prototype introduced in Landskrona, Sweden. It is about 40 m high and 14 m wide and can fully rotate. The first installation at sea is planned on board partner Wallenius’ Tirranna.

Fuel savings

According to Oceanbird, one Wing 560 sail can save 7-10% fuel on favourable ocean routes, leading to significant carbon reductions.
But Oceanbird dreams bigger. For instance, they are also working on larger wind-driven ship concepts such as the Orcelle Wind, a planned wind-assisted ro-ro freighter with a capacity of thousands of cars, which may be able to produce significantly up to 90 % lower emissions than conventional ships in the future.
“We are entering the market at an interesting time. We have competition, but the potential is huge as we are working with an emerging technology that is rising on the adoption curve,” said Jean-Charles Lecuyer, global sales manager at Oceanbird.

Oceanbird plans to start serial production in 2026 to meet the growing demand for sustainable marine solutions. This first order fills the two available production slots.

Sources: Offshore energy, The Maritime Executive and Oceanbird.
Image: Oceanbird

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