Bound4blue installs WAPS on multipurpose vessel
Spanish wind-assisted propulsion technology company bound4blue has installed a 22-metre-high rigid suction sail on a newly built multipurpose vessel (MPV).
IMAGE: Multipurpose vessel Na Hiro E Pae equipped with suction sail. bound4blue
An MPV is designed to transport a range of cargo types—including containers, breakbulk, heavy-lift and project cargo—within the same voyage.
The vessel, Na Hiro E Pae, owned by French Polynesian maritime transport operator Société de Navigation des Australes (SNA) Tuha'a Pae Shipping Company, is the first known multipurpose vessel in the world to be fitted with a wind-assisted propulsion system (WAPS), according to bound4blue.
The installation was completed at Astilleros Armon Vigo shipyard in Spain before the vessel's delivery. Na Hiro E Pae serves routes between Tahiti and the remote Austral Islands, transporting passengers, food supplies and general cargo.
The vessel can accommodate up to 200 passengers and carry up to 1,500 mt of cargo.
The suction sail is expected to cut the vessel's energy consumption by around 10%, while also improving its Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) performances, according to bound4blue.
The company has now installed its suction sails on 12 vessels, with another six ships on order.
Interest in wind-assisted propulsion technologies continues to grow as shipowners look to improve fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These systems harness wind power to generate additional thrust, lowering fuel consumption.
In July, Japanese shipping company Fairfield Maritime Japan signed a long-term charter agreement with Finnish energy company Neste for two new medium-range (MR) oil and chemical tankers equipped with WAPS.
Separately, Greek ship operator Capital Ship Management, South Korean shipbuilder K Shipbuilding, and classification society Lloyd's Register (LR) partnered to develop a wind-assisted 50,000 dwt MR tanker.
Dutch wind propulsion company Econowind has also received design approval from classification society DNV for its suction wing technology.
By Tuhin Roy
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