bound4blue hits bullseye with third-party assessed average daily fuel savings of 1.7 metric tons, and higher peaks, on LDA ro-ro

• Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA)-owned Ville de Bordeaux, chartered by Airbus, achieves average daily fuel savings of 1.7 metric tons across 12 months
• Third-party assessment by Bureau Veritas Solutions Marine & Offshore (BVS) confirms annual savings of 568 metric tons of fuel and 2,181 of CO₂ emissions (Well-to-Wake), with peak savings of as much as 5.4 metric tons of fuel per day.

Barcelona, June 25: bound4blue has underlined the business case for adopting eSAIL® wind propulsion technology, with today’s release of BVS assessed operational fuel savings on the Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) owned Ville de Bordeaux ro-ro.

The vessel, chartered by Airbus, had three 22-meter bound4blue suction sail units installed in 2024. BVS assessed the savings over a year, showing an average daily fuel saving of 1.7 metric tons, with peak savings of as much as 5.4 per day.

These savings are consistent with bound4blue’s initial projections and with the results obtained by LDA using its own methodology, which was grounded in real-time measurements – including fuel consumption data – and incorporated actual weather conditions to ensure accuracy.

The savings reported on the vessel, which transports Airbus subassemblies from Europe to the United States, were achieved without relying on weather routing and did not account for the significant regulatory advantages of adopting wind propulsion.

Exceptional impact

eSAILs® generate exceptional lift, producing greater propulsive force, and enabling significantly greater savings, per square meter than competing technologies like rigid sails. This provides equivalent savings with six to seven times less surface area, allowing for more compact installations, with reduced deck space requirements, lighter weight, and easier retrofitting across a wide range of vessel types.

The sails are also highly adaptable, delivering effective performance across diverse wind conditions and directions, from side winds to upwind scenarios. This makes them a versatile and scalable solution for global shipping routes, and very well suited for vessels operating at higher speeds.

Harnessing potential 

The newly assessed results, notes David Ferrer, CTO of bound4blue, demonstrate the tangible impact of eSAILs® for an industry in transition.

“We’re thrilled to see this hard-working vessel making significant daily savings, with really exciting peak numbers that demonstrate huge potential,” David says. “These results showcase how existing vessels – and not just newbuilds that have been designed for energy efficiency and wind propulsion – can harness this clean, renewable and accessible power source for transformative benefits.”

“The Ville de Bordeaux is a specialised, ro-ro vessel, providing continuous logistics solutions for the aeronautic industry, but the eSAILs® ability to generate lift from shallow angles means the system produced compelling results day-in day-out. This has been a great project, and we’d like to thank all our partners for their support and collaboration.”

Regulatory rewards

Awareness of eSAIL® performance and flexibility is growing fast within the industry, with recent installations onboard vessels owned by Odfjell, Eastern Pacific Shipping and Louis Dreyfus Company, while significant orders have been placed by Maersk Tankers, Marflet Marine and Klaveness Combination Carriers, amongst others.

Regulatory benefits have been a key driver for uptake, with bound4blue’s suction sails not only reducing fuel consumption but also delivering significant savings relating to compliance. The lower fuel consumption enabled by the units directly reduces greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in measurable benefits under the FuelEU Maritime regulation and the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). These regulatory savings can be significant further strengthening the business case.

Real world results

Speaking of the results onboard the Ville de Bordeaux, Mathieu Muzeau, Transport & Logistics Managing Director, LDA, states: “We were excited to set sail with bound4blue technology to determine ‘real world’ results and explore fuel and emissions savings, helping us deliver more sustainable maritime services to our clients.”

“It’s hugely rewarding to see the scale of savings enabled through this early adoption, while the performance achieved was also noteworthy – with a boost to vessel speed – as was the complete simplicity of operation. We look forward to many more tonnes of saved fuel, and reduced emissions, in the years to come.”

Commenting on the methodology used by the BVS team, and the results obtained, Camille Blayo, Ship Performance Engineer, commented: “The collaboration with LDA and bound4blue provided an exciting opportunity to validate further our methodology using an extensive dataset collected from onboard measurements. Thanks to our advanced ship energy modelling, we are able to thoroughly analyse the various factors contributing to fuel consumption, based on the vessel’s operating conditions and environments. This analysis was made possible through the combination of CFD-based assessment of hydro-aero loads, detailed machinery modeling and the eSAILs performance polars provided by bound4blue”. 

Flexible rewards

As well as reducing emissions and fuel expenditure for vessels throughout the world fleet, wind is the only power source actively rewarded through FuelEU Maritime (Wind Reward Factor), while helping drive down emissions for EU ETS and positively impacting upon CII ratings, amongst other benefits.

bound4blue eSAILs® have a typical payback period of less than five years and are suitable for either newbuilds or retrofitting across a diverse array of vessel segments. This includes, but is not limited to, Tankers, Bulkers, Ro-Ros, Cruises, Ferries, Gas Carriers, and General Cargo vessels.

bound4blue 

Cristina Aleixendri Muñoz | T. +34 938 33 73 92 | press@bound4blue.com

About bound4blue 

bound4blue develops automated wind-assisted propulsion systems as a turnkey solution for all shipowners and shipping companies seeking to reduce fuel costs and polluting emissions. bound4blue’s eSAIL^® system is a validated solution for saving fuel and emissions, completely autonomous, with low maintenance and easy installation onboard, being the most cost-efficient wind propulsion technology today. It is suitable for Tankers, Bulkers, Ro-Ros, Cruises, Ferries, Gas Carriers, and General Cargo vessels, regardless of their size or age. The company, founded in 2014 with a vocation clearly focused on the renewable energy sector in the maritime field, has its headquarters in Cantabria (Spain) and offices in Barcelona and Singapore. Since completing its first installation in 2021, the company has deployed its eSAIL® system on six ships, with 12 more in its order book, representing more than 50 eSAILs®. Its growing client portfolio includes industry leaders such as Eastern Pacific Shipping, Maersk Tankers, Marubeni Corporation, Klaveness Combination Carriers, and Louis Dreyfus Company, among others.

For more information, visit: www.bound4blue.com 

About Louis Dreyfus Armateurs 

For over 170 years, LOUIS DREYFUS ARMATEURS Group (LDA) has been providing maritime industry players with innovative industrial solutions tailored to their needs, as well as integrated services ranging from ship design and management to maritime operations in the fields of transportation, logistics, submarine cables, and renewable energy. LDA is a French family-owned group, offering a worldwide presence with over 1,800 staff and around 30 vessels.For more information, visit: www.lda.fr

About Bureau Veritas Solutions Marine & Offshore SAS

Bureau Veritas Solutions Marine & Offshore is a leading provider of technical advisory, asset management, and assurance services for the marine and offshore energy industries. The company offers top-tier, value-added solutions that help clients address complex issues, mitigate project risks, and optimize costs. Our clients are shipowners, charterers, banks, shipyards, engineering companies, equipment makers…

As part of the renowned Bureau Veritas Group, Bureau Veritas Solutions Marine & Offshore offers a wide range of expertise in different maritime fields, anchored by a deep understanding of the evolving marine and offshore energy market, to bring positive changes to the sector. Bureau Veritas Solutions Marine & Offshore supports and is helping to lead the energy transition for a low-carbon future. As a trusted partner in the shipping industry, Bureau Veritas Solutions Marine & Offshore assesses and optimizes the energy efficiency and emissions performance of the fleet. For more information, visit: https://marine-offshore.bureauveritas.com/offering-technical-advisory-services-assist-our-clients-decision-making-enhancing-safety-efficiency

The installation was co-funded by the European Union.

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.