HD Hyundai Heavy Industries of South Korea Launches Joint Design of 174,000 m³ Wind-Assisted LNG Carrier

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 15, the Korean Register (KR), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, BAR Technologies of the UK, and the Liberia International Ship and Corporate Registry (LISCR) signed a memorandum of understanding during Gastech 2026 in Bangkok to launch the joint development of a 174,000 m³ wind-assisted propulsion LNG carrier. The project is based on HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' existing 174,000 m³ LNG carrier design and is intended to integrate BAR Technologies' WindWings rigid wing sail system. It is currently in the joint design and technical evaluation stage and has not yet entered the ship construction or commercial order stage.

The development target adopts a forward-positioned crew accommodation design, placing the living quarters at the bow to free up upper deck space on the LNG carrier and provide room for the installation, structural arrangement, and operation of the WindWings equipment. Under the division of cooperation, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is responsible for the ship's basic design and design review; BAR Technologies is responsible for providing technical data including the WindWings arrangement plan, equipment specifications, structural strength, operating methods, and expected fuel savings.

The Korean Register and the Liberian flag-state authority will evaluate the safety and technical applicability of combining WindWings with this LNG carrier type in accordance with applicable classification rules and international regulations. After completing the relevant assessments, the Korean Register will consider issuing an Approval in Principle (AiP) for the design based on the review results. Therefore, the MoU signed this time corresponds to a design verification chain of "joint development—safety and compliance assessment—consideration of obtaining AiP," and is not a shipbuilding contract or a shipowner order.

WindWings use large rigid wing sails to provide auxiliary propulsion using wind power. BAR Technologies disclosed that 23 sets of WindWings have already been deployed on 10 bulk carriers and tankers, with their combined carbon dioxide emissions reduction amounting to approximately 100 tons per day. This project extends their application scope to the design of large LNG carriers, but the specific number of wing sails, the dimensions of each unit, the expected fuel-saving rate for the entire ship, and the subsequent full-scale ship construction timetable have not yet been announced in the joint development announcement.