Amasus Shipping has signed a second suction sail contract with Spain’s bound4blue.
Under the new agreement, a 22-m unit will be retrofitted on a 90-m, 2,876 dwt vessel at Astander shipyard in Santander, Spain, scheduled for mid-2025. According to bound4blue, the installation will be the largest suction sail system on a general cargo vessel.
“This latest contract is a landmark for us,” said José Miguel, ceo and co-founder at bound4blue. “We’ve secured a second agreement with a shipowner, showing how the technology meets all expectations as a proven, cost-effective, simple and reliable enabler for greener, more profitable and compliant shipping operations.”
“As wind gathers favour, we expect to see these forward-thinking early adopters, such as Amasus, being joined by more and more owners and operators keen to take advantage of the obvious eSAIL benefits. In that respect, we believe the adoption curve is set for take-off. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Amasus for their renewed trust in our team, dedication, and excellent cooperation, and look forward to building on that successful partnership in the years to come.”
The agreement follows the assessment of the impact of using first suction sails on the Amasus-owned Eems Traveller, which has been sailing with two 17-m eSAILs since July 2023. The autonomous system, which works by dragging air across its surface to generate propulsion, helps reduce vessel fuel use, OPEX and emissions to air, while also enhancing regulatory compliance.
bound4blue’s eSAILs can be used in both newbuilds and retrofitting across the majority of vessel segments, including tankers, bulkers, ro-ros, cruises, ferries, gas carriers and general cargo vessels.
According to the firm, the technology helps shipping companies simplify compliance, and achieve advantage, with regulations including EU ETS, CII and the upcoming FuelEU legislation, while offering a typical payback of less than five years.
