Odfjell Orders Suction Sails for Chemical Tanker Bow Optima

Odfjell has ordered suction sails for a second chemical tanker, placing a repeat order with bound4blue for the 49,000 dwt Bow Optima. The retrofit is scheduled for China in the second quarter of 2027.

The ship has already been prepared. Foundations, cabling and related deck ancillaries were fitted during a scheduled drydocking, and the four 22-metre eSAIL units will be mounted on those foundations once they are delivered from the supplier's production facilities in China. Bow Optima trades in Odfjell's round-the-world chemical service.

The order follows the installation aboard sister vessel Bow Olympus in March 2025. Odfjell has reported a 15 to 20% energy-saving effect from that system in good but not perfect wind conditions, equivalent to roughly five tonnes of fuel saved and around 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide avoided per day, with fuel consumption reductions of up to 40% in operation. The company set out the case for extending the technology across more ships when it doubled the sail investment last year.

"Odfjell has taken a practical, data-led approach to vessel efficiency over many years, and BOW OLYMPUS has given us valuable operational experience with wind-assisted propulsion in deep-sea chemical tanker trades," said Erik Hjortland, vice president technology at Odfjell. "The documented results from the first installation have strengthened our confidence in continuing with wind propulsion on selected vessels."

This is the first repeat order Odfjell has placed with the supplier. Over the past decade the company has installed more than 140 energy-saving devices across its fleet and reports a carbon intensity reduction of more than 53% against the International Maritime Organization's 2008 baseline, with a target of 57% by 2030.

The supplier has also completed an installation of four 22-metre units aboard Marflet Marine's Santiago I, the first commitment to suction sails by a Spanish merchant fleet owner, and has received a design assessment from Bureau Veritas Marine and Offshore for its larger Model 3-24 unit, handed over at SMM 2026 in Hamburg.

This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 12 September 2026.