OceanWings, Tsuneishi Shipbuilding and shipowner Topic have announced the completion of a rigid wingsail installation aboard the Ultramax bulk carrier Maria Topic, with the vessel now returned to commercial service.

The retrofit was carried out at Tsuneishi Shipbuilding's facilities in Japan and involved fitting OceanWings' rigid, tiltable wingsail technology to the existing vessel.

Topic CEO Alex Albertini commented: "Maria Topic follows Paolo Topic in our journey towards more sustainable shipping. By adding wind-assisted propulsion to an existing bulk carrier, we are continuing to invest in practical technologies that reduce fuel consumption and emissions across our fleet. OceanWings and Tsuneishi Shipbuilding demonstrated a strong understanding of our operational requirements, allowing the retrofit to be completed within the dry dock period."

Nakai Toshifumi, Managing Executive Officer and Chief Ship Repair Officer at Tsuneishi Shipbuilding, remarked: "The project demonstrates that wind-assisted propulsion can be efficiently integrated into an existing vessel using Tsuneishi Shipbuilding's ship repair and retrofit expertise, helping accelerate the transition towards more energy-efficient shipping. We are committed to contributing to the industry's decarbonization by leveraging our ship repair and retrofit expertise to bring innovative technologies into practical service."

Emmanuel Schalit, CEO of OceanWings, stated: "Maria Topic is the latest proof that our technology is delivering where it matters most: in commercial operation. We designed OceanWings to be simple, robust and adapted to the realities of bulk shipping. This project marks an important industrial milestone for OceanWings, demonstrating our ability to manufacture, deliver and deploy our technology at commercial scale."

The Maria Topic retrofit was carried out with support from the EU-funded WHISPER (wind energy harvesting for ship propulsion assistance and power) project, operating under the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 101096577. The project brings together 13 partners from six European countries to develop and validate modular retrofit solutions combining wind-assisted propulsion and renewable onboard energy systems. Lloyd's Register's involvement in the project is funded by UK Research and Innovation under project agreement number 10065742.

OceanWings and Topic are due to share initial operational insights from the vessel at SMM Hamburg in September 2026.