The development of a 12-metre high rigid sail, installed on board longliner Balueiro Segundo, is intended to achieve greater energy efficiency, reducing consumption of fuel and consequently emissions.
The eSAIL developed by Spanish engineering company bound4blue is seen as optimal solution for saving fuel and reducing emissions, as a fully automated, low cost, low maintenance system, and easily installed.
The project started life in 2018 with bound4blue, working on wind-assisted propulsion technology, and Norwegian company Kyma AS, a well-known and leading supplier of torque meters and ship performance monitoring systems, participating in Kaleido’s Fishing Accelerator in the Spanish port of Vigo.
The manufacturing and commissioning of bound4blue’s technology and Kyma's monitoring system are co-funded by the European Union, within the framework of the Aspiring Wingsails project, while longline operators’ federation ORPAGU has received institutional support from the European and Maritime Fisheries Fund and the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The result is a joint initiative between private companies and public institutions which has enabled Balueiro Segundo to become first fishing vessel to sail with this technology.
The rigid 12-metre-high sail, equipped with an autonomous control system was installed on board Balueiro Segundo in Panama, with the entire assembly and commissioning process recorded down to the smallest detail, followed by stability tests before the longliner headed for sea. Commissioning was carried out by bound4blue and Kyma is responsible for monitoring and validating fuel savings and reductions in emissions during the sea trials in the Pacific.
“This installation on Balueiro Segundo represents a great milestone for the company, as a first step towards future installations on larger ships and in different segments, such as tankers, bulk carriers, Ro-Ro or general cargo ships,” said bound4blue CEO José Miguel Bermúdez, commenting that the eSail system is fully scalable.
“We’re already manufacturing a 17-metre-high unit, fully tiltable, which will be installed on a general cargo ship after the summer, and we’ve also projected larger sails which are about to start being manufactured. Having active collaboration with shipowners and institutions as catalysts for innovation such as, in this case with ORPAGU and the European Union through their support in the Aspiring Wingsails project, has been absolutely key to making this happen.”
He said that although this an innovative system, the rigid sail offers all the necessary guarantees relating to security and safety in accordance with current maritime standards, as well as the approval of the installation by Bureau Veritas and the Dirección General de la Marina Mercante. The eSAIL is a lightweight, compact technology with low maintenance costs that can be installed on both existing and new build ships, and with a clear focus on the cargo fleet.
“For ORPAGU, this new journey we’ve begun with Balueiro Segundo is totally aligned with what we’ve been talking about for many years: sustainability and looking after the environment, reducing the impact of our activity at sea. The road hasn’t been easy but, at ORPAGU, we’ve applied the same philosophy that motivated us to start this project, sailing with new winds,” said ORPAGU’s managing director Juana Parada.
“We’re convinced that technology must be of a natural character. It makes no sense to fight against nature. It’s ideal to retrace wrong paths and find a way to live together. This project represents the people of A Guarda and so many other fishing ports who have learned to take advantage of the benefits of nature’s generosity to achieve vital economic benefits. In this sense, the rigid sail is connected with traditional ships and uses the wind which turned the mills of A Guía, Abaixo or Da Cruzada.”
