Marubeni wind-propulsion subsidiary bound4blue plans to install four 26-m eSAIL wind-propulsion systems on Marubeni’s Crimson Kingdom
The Panamax bulk carrier vessel will be retrofitted with the wind-assisted propulsion technology in 2023-2024 and the project is expected to be the largest suction sail installation in the world, resulting in the first Panamax bulk carrier using suction sails.
According to what bound4blue said were its preliminary studies, the 229-m Panamax bulk carrier is to be retrofitted with four 26-m eSAILs, which are expected to be the largest suction sails ever built and the largest installed on a vessel.
Following the installation, the vessel will be operated by MaruKlav Management Inc, a Panamax Pool company jointly owned by Japan-based Marubeni and Norway-headquartered Torvald Klaveness Group.
The suction sails are expected to reduce the vessel’s fuel costs and annual CO2 emissions by up to 20% in "favourable trade routes", according to bound4blue, and will also improve the vessel’s EEXI and CII data.
“The installation on Crimson Kingdom will probe the potential of our suction sails on bulk carriers, a strategic segment for our company. This agreement with Marubeni will enable us to scale up our technology to the next level, installing our 26-m units on a bulk carrier for the first time and giving us the opportunity to partner with one of the most important international shipowners”, bound4blue chief executive José Miguel Bermúdez said.
In May 2022, French family owned firm Louis Dreyfus Armateurs signed a deal with bound4blue to have three suction sails installed on one of its 100 vessels in 2023, not specifying which vessel or vessel type.
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