Agricultural trader Cargill Inc. is testing a cargo ship retrofitted with large sails that it hopes will charter a new low-carbon path for the maritime industry, the U.S. company said Monday.

The Pyxis Ocean, chartered by Cargill and owned by Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corp., set sail on its maiden voyage from Shanghai, where the 123-foot-tall sails were installed on its deck.

The so-called WindWings were designed by BAR Technologies of the U.K. and manufactured by Yara Marine Technologies of Norway.

Cargill said the sails are expected to generate average fuel savings of up to 30% on newbuild vessels, which could be even higher if used in combination with alternative fuels. It estimates that, on an average global route, WindWings can save 1.5 metric tons of fuel per sail per day, with the possibility of saving more on transocean routes.

Ships transport more than 80% of global trade and account for almost 3% of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Maritime Organization.

"The maritime industry is on a journey to decarbonize. It is not an easy one, but it is an exciting one," Jan Dieleman, president of Cargill's Ocean Transportation business, said in a news release. "A technology like WindWings doesn't come without risk, and as an industry leader, we are not afraid to invest, take those risks and be transparent with our learnings to help our partners in maritime transition to a more sustainable future."

The performance of the sails will be closely monitored over the coming months to further improve their design, operation and performance, the company said.

BAR Technologies and Yara Marine are already planning to build hundreds of wings over the next four years, it added.

The WindWings project is co-funded by the European Union as part of its CHEK Horizon 2020 initiative aimed at decarbonizing shipping.

The 751-foot long, 105-foot wide Pyxis Ocean can carry up to 81,000 mt of cargo, according to shipping data provider MarineTraffic. Built in 2017, it is sailing under the flag of Singapore.


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--Reporting by Abdul Latheef, alatheef@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-21-23 1107ET