bound4blue sail installation on MR tanker

bound4blue has installed three 22m-high e-sails on Eastern Pacific Shipping MR tanker Pacific Sentinel, at Besiktas shipyard in Turkey.
Installation time was reduced using bound4blue’s single-stop process, which comprised programming the e-sails simultaneously with outfitting and welding of pedestals on the deck of the vessel.

E-sail units work by creating suction along the length of the sail, which is a layer of laminar airflow, optimising generation of lift as the wind crosses the sail surface.

Air draft limits on MR tankers created certain operational requirements which bound4blue’s David Ferrer, Co-founder and CTO at bound4blue, said were met by the company’s design. “The fact that this is an MR tanker creates unique challenges in terms of ATEX zones and air draught limitations, but the eSAILs simplicity is the ideal solution,” he said.

“It allows for non-EX-proof units, which streamlines the process, and reduces CAPEX, while their high performance achieves substantial savings without requiring excessively large sails, eliminating the need for tilting mechanisms and allowing for compatibility with the vessel's existing air draft.”

bound4blue is set to install three more sails on an EPS newbuild MR tanker under construction at New Times Shipbuilding in Jiangsu Province, China, later this year.