Largest fixed suction sail installation on general cargo vessel complete

Wind-assisted propulsion company bound4blue installed two of its 17-metre-high eSAILs on the ship. The new eSAILs mark an efficiency improvement over the single unit of the same height installed on La Naumon.

Dutch-flagged Eems Traveller is a 2,850 dwt general cargo vessel owned by Amasus and had the wind assist system installed in two phases. The foundations for the eSAILs was installed in the Netherlands during a routine dry dock last year.

The sails were connected, reinforced and raised at the port of Bilbao in late June, a process which took under four hours, the bound4blue said.

Data from the monitoring of the ship’s performance between the two installation phases will serve as a baseline reference for data gathered over the next 12 months. A third party will assess fuel and emissions savings to validate the results and demonstrate the effect of the system on the ship’s performance.

José Miguel Bermúdez, CEO of bound4blue, says: “In the same way that we need proven sustainable solutions to decarbonize the industry, we also need to implement them as fast and efficiently as possible. As evidence of this, we have utilized for the first time the port infrastructure to install our systems, demonstrating that shipowners don't have to wait for the scheduled maintenance of the ship to start reaping the benefits of wind propulsion.”

Related:Wind-assistance can drive profitable and sustainable shipping

Arend-Jan Rozema, Managing Director of Amasus, says: “The joint development of this wind propulsion concept marks an important milestone and contribution to the aspiration in creating a sustainable future. As Amasus, we are proud and delighted to realize this new project together with our partners from bound4blue.”