Topic, Tsuneishi Shipbuilding and OceanWings completed the retrofit of the ultramax bulk carrier Maria Topic with an OceanWin...

News summary

According to published materials, company Topic together with Tsuneishi Shipbuilding and OceanWings completed the retrofit of the ultramax bulk carrier ship Maria Topic with an OceanWings rigid wing for wind-assisted propulsion.

Project highlights

• The work was carried out at Tsuneishi Shipbuilding’s yard in Japan.
• The project demonstrated the ability to integrate wind-assisted ship propulsion (WASP) technology on an existing merchant vessel.
• The partners noted that the retrofit solution can reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the existing fleet.
• The retrofit demonstrated the participants’ capabilities in the manufacture, supply and installation of wind-assisted propulsion systems in the dry bulk segment.
• Topic emphasized continued investment in practical technologies to reduce fuel burn and emissions across its fleet (according to CEO Alex Albertini).
• Tsuneishi Shipbuilding pointed out the effectiveness of integrating such propulsion into an active fleet based on its own ship repair and upgrade experience.
• For OceanWings, this was marked as an important industrial milestone confirming the ability to deploy the technology at a commercial level.

Next steps

The parties plan to present initial operational data for Maria Topic at the SMM Hamburg trade fair in September 2026, including a preliminary assessment of performance in commercial operation.

Financing

The retrofit was supported by the WHISPER project, funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme.