Bound4blue installs suction sails on KCC’s combination carrier

Spanish wind-assisted propulsion technology firm bound4blue has installed two suction sails on a combination carrier operated by Norwegian ship operator Klaveness Combination Carriers (KCC).

IMAGE: Combination carrier MV Baltazar equipped with two suction sails. bound4blue

A combination carrier is a ship designed to transport different types of cargo, typically both liquid (such as oil) and dry bulk (such as ore), in separate or convertible holds.

The two 24-metre sails were installed on the newbuild MV Baltazar at New Yangzi Shipbuilding in China. The vessel is expected to begin operations in the third quarter of 2026.

The project “demonstrates how already efficient vessel designs can be optimised even further with free, accessible and readily available wind power, delivering environmental, commercial and regulatory advantages,” said José Miguel Bermúdez, co-founder and chief executive of bound4blue.

Interest in wind-assisted propulsion continues to accelerate as shipowners seek greater efficiency and lower emissions.

Earlier this month, Japanese shipping firm Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) secured an approval in principle for a liquefied CO₂ carrier equipped with a wind-assisted propulsion system (WAPS) from Japanese classification society ClassNK. MOL also partnered with power generation company Electric Power Development (J-Power) to retrofit a coal carrier with a wind-assisted propulsion system.

Meanwhile, Netherlands-based Econowind plans to install a 30-metre suction wing system on a vessel operated by Boomsma Shipping later this year.

HGK Shipping, part of Germany’s logistics group HGK, also reached an agreement with Econowind to install WAPS on its coastal vessel Amadeus Titanium.

By Tuhin Roy

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