Wind-propelled ships for maritime decarbonization: Technologies, global deployment, and engineering challenges

As carbon pricing expands and decarbonization targets become stricter, wind propulsion is being reconsidered for commercial shipping. This review summarizes the global deployment of wind-propelled ships and development trends. A multi-source data integration approach, drawing on peer-reviewed papers, public vessel databases, and industry and association reports, was used to build a ship-level inventory of vessels equipped with wind propulsion systems (WPS) before 2025 Q4. The dataset includes 96 ships, and 90 were still in service by the end of 2025. Based on this inventory, this review describes current applications by operating regions, ship types, retrofit compared with new build routes, and whether the wind device serves as primary or auxiliary propulsion. Five main wind propulsion systems, including Flettner rotors, suction wing sails, rigid wing sails, soft sails, and kite sails, are then compared in terms of adoption trends and key integration features. In addition, this review also brings together the main technical challenges, including the efficiency of wind energy use, safety and reliability, operational and environmental factors, and economic considerations and commercial viability. Finally, policy measures, classification, and industry guidance in major regions are outlined to explain the main drivers and obstacles to wider adoption.