Louis Dreyfus Armateurs to Install, Trial Trio of eSAILs for Propulsion Assist

Louis Dreyfus Armateurs said it will equip one of its vessels with three bound4blue’s suction sails in 2023.

“We pay particular attention to the decarbonization of all our ships and are taking a proactive approach to study, develop and adopt solutions in this direction," said Kamil Beffa, CEO, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs. "Our ship project management, engineering and innovation teams have been working for more than three years in partnership with bound4blue to implement an innovative and environmentally virtuous solution to assist in the propulsion of our ships. With (bound4blue's) eSAIL system, the sail propulsion will take the form of boundary layer suction wing profiles and will take advantage of the apparent wind encountered by the vessel to generate additional thrust. This device should make it possible to generate substantial fuel savings."

Both companies worked together during 2020 on a preliminary project to assess the viability of the installation on one of the shipowner's vessels. In parallel, the financing to launch the project has been closed, with the support of the European Innovation Council (EIC) Acceleration Program, allowing to install bound4blue’s technology on one of LDA’s vessels during 2023.