Reducing a lot on a few

Vessels from the Oceanbird concept

There are a lot of advantages in considering wing sails already in the design phase of a newbuild vessel. It could be a fully sailing vessel where the main part of the propulsion comes from the wind, or a wind-assisted newbuild vessel with one or two wing sails to complement the main engine.

Orcelle Wind – world´s first wind-powered RoRo

Wallenius Wilhelmsen, market leader in roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) shipping and vehicle logistics, have announced the intention to order the first vessels from the Oceanbird concept, which they will call Orcelle Wind. Orcelle Wind will be the first wind-powered Pure Car Truck Carrier in the world. It will have a capacity for approx. 7,000 cars but will also be capable of carrying breakbulk and rolling equipment. The vessel will be approx. 220 meter long, 40 meter wide and 70 meter height above water. The ambition is to commence sailing in early 2027. Equipped with six Oceanbird Wings, it will have at least 50-60 % lower emissions compared to conventional vessels operating in regular trading.

To support the building of Orcelle Wind, Wallenius Wilhelmsen and 10 project partners, among them Oceanbird, have secured a Horizon Europe funding totaling EUR 9m. The five-year project is called Orcelle Horizon.

Ship design by Wallenius Marine

Wallenius Marine developed the Oceanbird concept together with KTH Royal Institute of Technology and SSPA, with support from Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket). The concept showed that it is possible to reduce emissions from vessels by up to 90 percent if all emissions-influencing factors are aligned.

Wallenius Marine is now leading the ship design and new building project of the first vessels from the concept, in close collaboration with Oceanbird, Wallenius Wilhelmsen and design firm Knud E Hansen. A special designed hull that is designed especially for a wind propulsion system, will take the emission reduction to a whole new level. Ground-breaking ship designs is an important part on delivering on their vision: Wallenius Marine – Leading the way towards truly sustainable shipping.

This project has received funding from European Union’s Horizon Europe Framework program under grant no 101096673.

Answers to common questions

What is the Oceanbird concept?

Oceanbird is a concept for wind-powered vessels. The concept, including wing sails, special designed hull and speed/route recommendations, showed that it is possible to reduce emissions from vessels by up to 90 percent compared with conventional vessels.

The Oceanbird concept was developed in a research project between Wallenius Marine, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and SSPA, with support from the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket).

Learn more about the cluster behind the Oceanbird concept.

What do you base 90% reduction on?

We have done, and are still doing, extensive simulations in the development project together with KTH (Royal Institute of Technology) and SSPA. The simulations shows that if an Oceanbird vessel has an average speed of 9-10 knots, we only need to use the engine 10 % of the time. Even if it will go a few knots faster, it will still have significantly reductions.
Read more in the blog post “Why we claim a 90% reduction of emissions”

What is the difference between wind assistance and wind propulsion?

In wind assistant solutions, the main energy force comes from an engine which is supported by wind. Wind propulsion means that the main force comes from wind, supported by an engine.

How does the wing sails works?

The Oceanbird Wing 560 consists of a main sail and a flap, optimizing the aerodynamics forces. To allow the vessel to pass under bridges and reduce the power in hard weather, the wing can be folded and tilted. It is half the size but shows the same performance as previous design, allowing a smaller footprint: both environmental and on deck.

Read more in at the section Oceanbird 560

Why did Alfa Laval and Wallenius start the company?

Wallenius Marine developed the Oceanbird concept in a research project together with KTH and SSPA. Entering the next phase, Wallenius needed a partner for developing the wing sail system and being able to provide them to the market. As one of the biggest suppliers to the marine industry, Alfa Laval have extensive production experience.

Alfa Laval and Wallenius have worked together before in developing PureBallast and shares the same values around sustainability and pioneering spirit.

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8.05.2025