Japanese trader and shipowner Marubeni is putting its weight further behind Spanish manufacturer Bound4blue’s suction wind power device eSAIL.
The two companies have signed an agreement that will see Marubeni sell the system into the Japan market and internationally.
The Japanese company aims to draw on its network in the shipping industry and will also act as the exclusive business partner of Bound4blue in Japan.
The deal builds on an agreement to install an eSAIL on a panamax bulk carrier owned by Marubeni Marine Services Limited (MMSL).
“In recent years, the trend towards decarbonisation has been gathering momentum in various industries, and awareness of these and other moves to introduce environmental measures are also increasing in the shipping industry,” said Marubeni.
The eSAIL is categorised as a suction-type sail.
The basic principles are similar to those underlying the generation of lifting power by aeroplane wings.
The sucking of air into the eSAIL also smooths the flow of wind around its body, with the result that propulsive force can be generated more efficiently.
Marubeni is listed by Clarksons as owning 27 bulkers from kamsarmaxes down to a handysize.
Its 84,860-dwt Crimson Kingdom (built 2016) will be fitted with four 26-metre-high suction sails in the first such trial by the Japanese trading house giant.
First panamax suction sail retrofit
The vessel will be retrofitted in 2023/24 with what is expected to be the largest suction sail installation in the world and the first panamax bulker using this type of propulsion aid.
Following the installation, the ship will be entered in the Torvald Klaveness and Marubeni-run panamax bulker pool Baumarine.
The sails are expected to reduce the ship’s fuel costs and annual CO2 emissions by up to 20% in “favourable trade routes”, bound4blue said.
Bound4blue was formed in 2014 in Barcelona.
