LR approves HHI’s wind-assisted LNG carrier design

Vessel features MOL’s Wind Challenger hard-sail system.

Lloyd’s Register (LR) has granted Design Appraisal to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ (HHI) fore-accommodation LNG carrier design equipped with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines’ (MOL) Wind Challenger hard-sail system.

The appraisal confirms the design meets LR’s Wind-Assisted Propulsion Systems (WAPS) notation requirements.

The partners describe the vessel as the world’s first fore-accommodation LNG carrier equipped with the Wind Challenger system. The project involves LR, HHI, MOL, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands Maritime Administrator and follows an Approval in Principle awarded by LR at Gastech 2025.

The design moves the accommodation block and bridge to the vessel’s bow, freeing the mid-to-aft deck for the Wind Challenger sails while maintaining operational and navigational requirements.

The partners assessed navigational visibility, hull stability, structural stresses from the sails and integrated Emergency Shutdown systems. They also conducted a hazard identification study and risk assessments under LR’s Risk Based Certification process.

The Design Appraisal confirms the concept complies with LR’s WAPS requirements for the safe application of wind-assisted propulsion systems.