Brazilian mining giant Vale is planning to carry out the biggest wind propulsion retrofit ever.

The company has chosen to install five rotor sails from Anemoi Marine Technologies on the world’s largest ore carrier — the chartered, Asyad-owned, 400,000-dwt Sohar Max (built 2012).

The Valemax VLOC will have 35-metre-high and five-metre-diameter cylindrical sails deployed on a folding system, so they can be lowered to minimise the impact on cargo-handling operations.