Spanish wind propulsion company bound4blue has successfully installed two of its eSAILs on the Dutch flagged ‘Eems Traveller’, a 2,850 dwt general cargo vessel owned by Amasus.
The eSAIL system, categorised as a suction sail, is based on the use of a thick aerodynamic profile and smart suction to increase the propulsive efficiency, resulting in a system that is said to produce seven times more lift than an aircraft wing.
These sails represent a new and improved generation of the system installed on the La Naumon, delivering higher efficiency with the same size. Standing at a height of 17m, they are the largest suction sails installed on a ship, with the installation of these two sails on the Eems Traveller marking the largest installation of fixed suction sails on a ship to date.
The installation was executed in two distinct phases. In 2022, during a scheduled regular dry-dock of the vessel, the foundations for the eSAILs were manufactured and installed in the Netherlands. The verticalisation manoeuvre and connection to the reinforcement of the sails was completed in less than four hours at the Port of Bilbao in late June 2022. In between these two phases bound4blue has been monitoring the ship to obtain its baseline performance, which will be used by a third party to assess the fuel and emission savings results in the next 12 months. In this way, scientifically validated results can be obtained, which can be used to demonstrate the actual effects of the system in use on board of the vessel and form the basis for any future further development.
José Miguel Bermúdez, CEO bound4blue, said: “In the same way that we need proven sustainable solutions to decarbonise the industry, we also need to implement them as fast and efficiently as possible. As evidence of this, we have utilised 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.”
Arend-Jan Rozema, Amasus MD, said: “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.”
This installation, approved by Bureau Veritas, has been done within the framework of the Sails for Cargo project, co-funded by Fondo Puertos 4.0 of Puertos del Estado, with support from Port of Bilbao, Bilbao PortLab and Toro y Betolaza.
