Wallenius Wilhelmsen will be the first to order a vessel of the Oceanbird concept. At a live webcast, commented by the Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg, Wallenius Wilhelmsen launched the wind-powered RoRo ship Orcelle Wind.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen is market leader in RoRo (Roll-on/Roll-off) shipping. In 17 February 2021, the company launched their “most significant sustainability project to date”: the world’s first full-size wind-powered pure car and truck carrier: Orcelle Wind. Orcelle Wind is based on the Oceanbird concept from Wallenius Marine.

“This is the beginning of an amazing chapter and the continuation in our journey towards sustainability” said Craig Jasienski, CEO of Wallenius Wilhelmsen in a webcast.

Positive signals from customers and politicians

After early customer dialogues,  Wallenius Wilhelmsen achieved positive signals from customers such as BMW, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz.

Also, the Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg praised the ambition to achieve sustainable shipping.

“I’m looking forward to see this project develop, and I am looking forward to finally see an extraordinary ship set sail. I wish you great luck!” said Erna Solberg.

Good news for anyone interested in sustainability

For the Oceanbird team at Wallenius, it is a big step forward to have a first customer.

“This is very good news for anyone interested in sustainability” said Richard Jeppsson, VP Commercialization Oceanbird. “To see one of the world’s largest shipping companies convert to sustainable transports is very important for the entire logistics chain. The fact that they embrace the Oceanbird concept, means that they believe it is commercially interesting. Their customers will be able to book entirely emission-free transports in the near future.”

Other segments to come

Meanwhile, Wallenius Marine also continue to develop Oceanbird for other segments.

“We are delighted to welcome Wallenius Wilhelmsen onboard on this journey. Together we can lead the way towards truly sustainable shipping. Within our organisation, work continues to develop the concept of Oceanbird also for other types of vessels” said Per Tunell, COO at Wallenius Marine.