Spain’s Marflet Marine to install bound4blue eSAILs

The 2022-built vessel will have four 22m-high eSAILs installed in mid-2025 as part of the tanker company’s  strategy to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, and cut operating costs across its fleet. The Spanish owner, the first compatriot to invest in bound4blue wind-assisted propulsion technology, is the latest owner to choose suction sails to reduce fuel consumption and improve carbon intensity indicator (CII) ratings.

The latest deal follows a series of recent contracts signed by bound4blue with clients including Eastern Pacific Shipping, Louis Dreyfus and Norwegian chemical tanker operator, Odfell.
The eSAIL installation will reduce the tanker owner’s liabilities under the EU Emissions Trading System which already applies to vessels operating within, to or from European Economic Area waters. Meanwhile, Fuel EU Maritime is due to enter force in January 2025 and will require ship operators with vessels trading in the bloc to reduce ship emissions on a well-to-wake basis and according to a schedule over the years ahead.

“This is a very significant contract for us,” declared bound4blue’s CEO, José Miguel Bermúdez, “not only because Marflet is the first Spanish merchant fleet shipowner to join the wind revolution, but also because with this contract, we consolidate the tanker segment … The wind revolution is here, and the time is now: as regulations become more stringent and stakeholders demand action to achieve environmental goals, solutions such as our eSAILs allow owners to harness a natural, clean power source while also realising significant commercial benefits.”

Related:Terntank ordered up to two wind assisted tankers from Jinling Shipyard

bound4blue’s eSAIL technology is suitable for ships including tankers, bulk carriers, car carriers, cruise vessels, ferries, gas carriers, and general cargo vessels.