Recently, it was announced that Bound4Blue’s eSAIL® suction sails will be installed on an Odfjell chemical tanker and a ro/ro for Louis Dreyfus Armateurs.
The technology goes by various names. When developed for Jacques-Ives Cousteau’s research vessel, Alcyone, it was referred to as a turbosail. The Dutch firm eConowind‘s version is called a ventfoil. And Bound4Blue eSAIL® are termed suction sails.
Whatever you call it, the designs are fixed airfoil-shaped spars with an internal fan that uses boundary layer suction to generate thrust. The suction system helps the airflow to re-adhere to the sail, generating additional lift, reducing the load on the ship’s main engines, and delivering savings in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
Odfjell chemical tanker
Odfjell will install four eSAIL® suction sails on a chemical tanker.
“Since 2020, we have been studying sail technologies as a potential energy efficiency measure for our fleet, and we are excited to now take the next step by partnering with bound4blue to implement their pioneering eSAIL® system on one of our chemical tankers,” said Jan Opedal, Manager Projects at Odfjell. “This technology has significant potential to reduce emissions by harvesting the energy on the ship itself and transforming it directly into a forward thrust.”
Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Ro/Ro
French shipping company Louis Dreyfus Armateurs working with Airbus, which charters one of its ships, will install Bound4Blue suction sails on a ro/ro cargo vessel as a test of the technology, the first-ever fixed suction sail installation on a ro/ro.
The three 72-foot-high suction sails will be fitted aboard the Ville de Bordeaux, a 19-year-old Ro-Ro built in 2004 and operating for Airbus transporting A320 aircraft subassemblies from Europe to Mobile, Alabama for final assembly. The vessel registered in France is 506 feet in length and 5,200 dwt.
“We at Airbus have been studying wind-assisted technologies as a potential energy source for our maritime operations for many years,” said Nicolas Chrétien, Head of Sustainability & Environment at Airbus. “This technology looks promising and we are eager to start testing it in real conditions by the end of the year.”
The suction sails will be installed on the Ville de Bordeaux ahead of a six-month performance monitoring period starting in early 2024.
Bound4Blue asserts that the technology creates as much as six to seven times more lift than a conventional rigid sail.
Nice,
The acquisition of real-time data is always good..
Pingback: Which Sail Assist Technology is Best — Airbus Trying Both Flettner Rotors & Suction Sails - Walrus Neat