Ultramax Bulk Carrier, Maria Topic with one Rigid Tiltable Wingsail

The unique design generates efficient aerodynamic lift, delivering positive thrust across a wide range of apparent wind angles (AWA), starting from as low as 5°. This allows the system to maximise wind-assisted propulsion opportunities throughout a voyage, resulting in significant daily fuel savings and reductions in CO₂e emissions.

The retrofit solution enables the shipowner to begin reducing fuel consumption and emissions immediately, without waiting for a newbuild. When required for port operations or cargo handling, the wingsails can be tilted, ensuring unrestricted cargo operations while maintaining the vessel’s commercial flexibility.

This retrofit is part of WHISPER, a four-year energy transition project funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.

Our Rigid Tiltable Wingsail (OW RT) is engineered for seamless integration on both newbuild and retrofit bulk carriers, with cargo operations and trading flexibility at the core of its design. Its compact tiltable configuration accommodates the deck constraints of geared vessels, preserving crane operations, hatch access and cargo-handling efficiency.

Fully automated and designed for demanding marine environments, OW RT combines high aerodynamic performance, robustness and operational simplicity. With a fundamentally simple architecture and maintenance accessibility designed in from the outset, the system is easy to inspect, maintain and repair, an essential consideration in the particularly harsh and abrasive environment of bulk carrier operations. Its tilting capability further ensures compatibility with port infrastructure, loading and unloading operations, and air-draft constraints.