Marflet Marine, a Spanish private shipping company, has announced a new step in its decarbonisation strategy by signing a contract with bound4blue to install four 22m-high eSAILs on its oil and chemical tanker Santiago I.
Scheduled for mid-2025, the installation will make Marflet the first Spanish shipowner to integrate wind-assisted propulsion (WAP) in its merchant fleet.
The eSAILs, a fully autonomous ‘suction sail’ technology, generates propulsion by drawing air across their aerodynamic surfaces, thus reducing conventional fuel use, optimising operational costs, and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
The technology requires no operational input from the crew and has already been adopted by industry leaders such as Eastern Pacific Shipping and Odfjell.
José Miguel Bermúdez, bound4blue’s CEO, says that the easy installation of the eSAILs minimises additional engineering work and limits downtime, providing a clear advantage over other emission reduction technologies.
Modelling by bound4blue predicts a 10-15% reduction in annual energy consumption for Santiago I.
Juan Cremades, fleet manager at Marflet, says: “With bound4blue’s eSAILs on board, Santiago I has a cost-effective means to optimise fuel efficiency and really drive down emissions, benefiting all our stakeholders. We see huge potential in wind, and we’re thrilled to be the first mover in the Spanish merchant market to adopt such a breakthrough solution.”
