Wallenius Wilhelmsen will be the first to order a vessel of Wallenius Marine’s Oceanbird concept. At a live webcast, commented by the Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg, Wallenius Wilhelmsen launched the world’s first full-size wind-powered pure car and truck carrier, the Orcelle Wind.
“This is the beginning of an amazing chapter and the continuation of our journey towards sustainability” said Craig Jasienski, CEO of Wallenius Wilhelmsen in a webcast.
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 seeing this project develop, and I am looking forward to finally see an extraordinary ship set sail. I wish you great luck!” said Erna Solbe
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.”
“We are delighted to welcome Wallenius Wilhelmsen onboard on this journey. Together we can lead the way towards truly sustainable shipping. Within our organization, work continues to develop the concept of Oceanbird also for other types of vessels” said Per Tunell, COO at Wallenius Marine.
