Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. announced that the “Invention of a rigid wing sail with height adjustment for wind assisted propulsion ships” (Patent No. 5318008, Title of Invention: Sailing Ship) was awarded for the WIPO Prize (Note 1) at the 2025 National Commendation for Invention held by the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation (JIII), and MOL received the Invention Implementation Achievement Award.”
Currently, two vessels, the Shofu Maru and Green Winds, are equipped with this system, and 7 bulk carriers and 2LNG carriers are scheduled to be equipped in the future (Note 2). As stated in the “MOL Group Environmental Vision 2.2,” MOL plans to install the sails on 25 vessels by 2030 and 80 by 2035.
This award is for the invention of a hard sail whose height can be adjusted by extending and retracting the sail up and down. The use of hard sails allows the conversion of wind power into ship propulsion as an alternative energy source to fossil fuels and is expected to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to fuel savings. This hard sail was installed on the 100,000-DWT coal carrier Shofu Maru, in October 2022, and to date, the ship has achieved average fuel savings of about 5% to 8% per voyage and up to 17% per day.
Bulk carrier Shofu Maru equipped with Wind Challenger(hard sail based on the invention)
The award ceremony will be held on Tuesday, July 1, in the presence of Her Imperial Highness Princess of Hitachi Hanako of Japan.
Through the safe management and operational efficiency of its environmentally friendly fleet, combined with Wind Challenger, which uses this invention technology, the MOL Group will contribute not only to the reduction of GHG emissions from its own group, but also to the decarbonization of society as a whole.
The details of the 2025 National Commendation for Invention “WIPO Award” are as follows.
- Winning themes
”Invention of a rigid wing sail with height adjustment for wind assisted propulsion ships”
- Award winners
Inventors
Ouchi Ocean Consultant, Inc. CEO Kazuyuki Ouchi
Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Innovative Composite
Materials Research & Development Center Director Kiyoshi Uzawa
Invention Implementation Achievement Award recipients
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. President & CEO Takeshi Hashimoto
Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. President Makoto Yamaguchi - Features of the awarding technology
This invention relates to a hard sail that can be extended and retracted to adjust its height, and harnesses wind power to propel a vessel. The entire sail can be telescoped up and down to expand and contract the sail area and adjust the moment applied to the base of the mast by adjusting the position of the aerodynamic center.
Source: Mitsui O.S.K. Lines