Six Norsepower rotor sails, each 35 m high and 5 m in diameter, have been installed in Shanghai on Spirit of Toulouse, a RoRo ship chartered to Airbus, LD Armateurs and Norsepower said on 15 October 2026. The companies call it the vessel with the most mechanical sails in the world.

They also describe it as the largest RoRo vessel in the world fitted with wind propulsion. Both records are the companies’ own claims.

Samira Draoua, chief executive of LD Armateurs, said that bringing together six rotor sails and dual-fuel methanol propulsion on a ship of this scale “is a world first”.

Installed on the coast at Shanghai

The work was carried out by the project team of the shipyard, Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group, at a coastal outfitting site in Shanghai. Fitting six rotor sails to one hull was a demanding job, the companies said, and the shipyard team drew up a dedicated construction plan, refined through expert review, with roles defined before work began on site.

Jean-Baptiste Boutillier, chief operating officer of LD Armateurs, said the site was “a demanding one, on the coast and with real limitations on working conditions”.

Commissioning of the sails started as soon as the first rotor sail had been installed.

Methanol engines and a transatlantic route

The six rotor sails are paired with two dual-fuel main engines and two dual-fuel generator sets, which can run on e-methanol, bio-methanol or marine diesel oil. The companies say the wind propulsion is designed to work alongside the methanol system, cutting fuel consumption across the voyage.

Heikki Pöntynen, chief executive of Norsepower, called the completed installation “a significant milestone for wind propulsion in the RoRo segment”. He said: “Working in synergy with the vessel’s dual-fuel methanol engines, the rotor sails give LD Armateurs a vessel designed to cut fuel consumption and emissions from her first voyage.”

With all six in place, the rotor sails will go through testing during the ship’s sea trials to confirm their performance and their integration with onboard systems. Further optimisation and fine-tuning will continue during the maiden voyage from China to France. Pöntynen said Norsepower looked forward “to seeing the technology proven out on the transatlantic route”.

Spirit of Toulouse, owned and operated by LD Armateurs, is the lead vessel in a fleet of three low-emission RoRo ships built for the company and chartered to Airbus. The ships will move large aircraft sub-assemblies between the manufacturer’s production sites in Europe and North America. Norsepower and LD Armateurs first announced their collaboration in early 2024.

Construction began at the shipyard by October 2024, and the lead vessel was launched in February 2026. Boutillier said the collaboration with Norsepower on the project had set “a strong benchmark for the next two vessels”, which are also due to be fitted with rotor sails.

The two sister ships are named Spirit of Mobile and Spirit of Mirabel.

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