At 15:00 on January 30, 2026, ContiOcean
Environment Tech Group Co.,Ltd.(“ ContiOcean”) proudly unveiled the ContiOcean
PowerFoil suction sail system at the NK (Nippon Kaiji Kyokai) Quarterly Forum
held in Imabari, Japan，over 150 shipowners and shipyard
representatives from around the world jointly witnessed this historic
breakthrough. Simultaneously, the ContiOcean PowerFoil received the Approval in
Principle (AIP) certificate from ClassNK, marking international authoritative
recognition of the innovative technology's safety, reliability, and
environmental performance, and injecting strong momentum into the development
of green shipping.
The ContiOcean PowerFoil is driven by a
dual-engine system combining Bernoulli's Principle with AI heading
collaborative control, constructing an all-condition, high-efficiency auxiliary
propulsion solution. Verified through wind tunnel testing and large-model
simulation, the system enables vessels to achieve 15-30% fuel savings,
delivering significant energy conservation and emission reduction results. Its
core innovation highlights include:
Active Suction Propulsion for Enhanced
Thrust
The sail incorporates a high-speed fan that
actively draws air through its porous surface, creating a stable pressure
differential across the sail. This generates lift forces 6 to 7 times greater
than rigid sails, significantly improving energy conversion efficiency.
Breaking Headwind Limitations for
All-Weather Operation
The ContiOcean PowerFoil substantially
reduces the unusable wind angles encountered by conventional sails in headwind
conditions, adapting to diverse wind scenarios and ensuring stable auxiliary
propulsion in all weather conditions.
AI Intelligent Management for Optimal
Energy Efficiency
Equipped with an AI-driven heading control
system, it collects real-time multidimensional data including wind speed,
heading, and vessel attitude, accurately calculating optimal sail angles and
suction intensity to ensure the vessel maintains peak energy efficiency
throughout the entire voyage.
Dual Assurance: Safety, Compliance, and
Commercial Value
In terms of safety and operations, the
system features a hydraulic lifting mechanism enabling rapid sail deployment
and retraction, flexibly responding to port operations and severe weather
scenarios to ensure navigational safety. Its skid-mounted design significantly
reduces the number of moving parts, effectively lowering maintenance costs and
failure rates while improving operational efficiency.
Regarding compliance and authoritative
endorsement, ClassNK stands as one of the world's most stringent maritime
safety certification bodies. Its AIP certification represents high recognition
of the ContiOcean PowerFoil's technical feasibility and safety reliability.
This milestone signifies the product's successful transition from conceptual
design to engineering implementation, allowing it to be directly incorporated
into compliance schemes for newbuildings or existing vessel retrofits, helping
shipowners mitigate regulatory risks.
Deepening Innovation: Empowering Green
Shipping, Embracing a Decarbonized Future
The simultaneous achievement of the
Japanese debut and ClassNK AIP certification marks a significant breakthrough
for ContiOcean Group in the field of green shipping technology. Moving forward,
ContiOcean will continue to deepen its commitment to green shipping innovation,
continuously iterating technologies and optimizing solutions to assist global
shipowners in efficiently achieving energy conservation and emission reduction
goals, driving the shipping industry toward a smarter, greener, and more sustainable
future.