Oceanbird has completed the installation of Wing560 on Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s 230-metre car carrier, Tirranna. DNV granted the design certificate in the first week of June this year, verifying the class society’s approval on safety, regulatory compliance and that Wing560 meets the applicable technical requirements for Tirranna. A focused team at Oceanbird has since run at full capacity to finalise the retrofit’s final steps to HAT and SAT.
The installation took place between 21–24 June 2026 at Damen Shipyard in Rotterdam, and Tirranna departed the yard on 24 June to begin her next voyage equipped with the tiltable rigid wing sail. As of 1 July, 2026 the Harbour Acceptance Test and Sea Acceptance Test have been completed.
As Oceanbird’s first onboard prototype, this achievement signals, not only Oceanbird’s tangible entry into the market, but the opening of the car carrier segment to wind propulsion enabled by Oceanbird’s unique and stringent safety features and redundancies. The Wing560 stands 46-metres tall and 14-metres wide, contributing the surface area needed to provide thrust to such a large vessel. An Oceanbird team will sail with Tirranna to collect performance data, monitor usage, and evaluate the wing’s efficiency under real operating conditions under a limited period.
“This is a pivotal moment for us, and it is just the beginning. Our team has worked incredibly hard to get here and we are so proud of the talent, research and dedicated work behind this prototype. We are very excited to see Wing560 perform at sea so we can prove the value of our efforts. This installation is the next step in our journey to create wind propulsion systems,” says Oceanbird CEO, Amrit Bhullar.