Odfjell’s chemical tanker Bow Olympus is the first Odfjell vessel equipped with four bound4blue suction sails. The 49k Bow Olympus is set to depart the yard with four 22-meter-tall eSAILs® on deck and navigate towards the windy areas to explore “the real-time benefits,” as Odfjell says, of the wind-assisted propulsion technology.
Odfjell cooperated with bound4blue, a wind-assisted propulsion technology expert, to ensure that the system could be installed without significant modifications to the vessel.
The installation, which was completed in just two days, took place at the EDR Antwerp Shipyard as the final stage of a thorough process.
Firstly, sail pedestals were fitted during a planned drydocking, before the eSAILs® were lifted into place at EDR Antwerp Shipyard.
The five-year-old vessel will soon embark on what could be called her second maiden voyage, this time, crossing the Atlantic towards Texas with four eSAILs®.
“Each nautical mile will be thoroughly analyzed in real-time to document the energy-saving effects,” said VP Technology Erik Hjortland, adding that solutions such as green ammonia and green methanol for decarbonizing shipping require enormous amounts of electricity-an estimated 5,500 terawatt hours annually.
Odfjell’s decision to implement this specific technology was made after a thorough assessment following a deep-dive study by the RISE research institute.
The installation was done on March 10-11 at the EDR shipyard in Antwerp.
Integrating the sail foundations required careful planning, and the installation had to be specifically designed to ensure a seamless fit with tanker operations while considering the vessel’s air draft limitations.
“Sails, on the other hand, harnesses wind power locally and directly, with a much lower energy loss—around ten percent from sail to propeller. This allows the renewable wind energy to be used more efficiently directly on board the ship,” Hjortland noted.
