Louis Dreyfus to install bound4blue sails aboard fruit juice tanker
Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) has chosen suction sails developed by Barcelona-based bound4blue for installation on board the 34,584 dwt fruit juice tanker Atlantic Orchard.
The 2014-built tanker is on charter from Sweden’s Wisby Tankers AB. Four 26m-high bound4blue eSAILs will be constructed and retrofitted on board the tanker in 2024, resulting in likely fuel savings and emission reductions of at least 10%. The sails will be the largest so far installed by the Spanish company.
The eSAIL system leverages a thick aerodynamic profile and a suction mechanism to improve propulsive efficiency, yielding seven times more lift than an aeroplane wing, the company said. The decision to adopt the bound4blue technology was based on a third-party assessment carried out by Lloyd’s Register. The classification society evaluated a series of options and identified the Spanish company’s suction sails as the most promising.
LDC’s Global Head of Freight, Sébastian Landerretche, commented: “Reflecting LDC’s commitment to help shape a low-carbon economy, we are actively contributing to the global shipping industry energy transition journey in line with the IMO’s target to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from the sector by 2050. We are therefore very pleased to partner with two key maritime industry players, bound4blue and Wisby Tankers, to install this advanced sail technology aboard our chartered juice carrier.”
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José Miguel Bermúdez, bound4blue CEO, said: “We’re pleased to announce our agreement with LDC to implement our eSAIL system, demonstrating bound4blue’s ability to serve unique vessel types and affirming the maturity of our technology as a proven solution for fuel and emission reduction. LDC is at the forefront of adopting proven clean technologies to reduce carbon emissions in its fleet, and we are delighted to support them in their endeavour.”
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