Spanish wind-propulsion developer bound4blue has completed the installation of a 22-metre eSAIL on the French Polynesian multipurpose newbuild Na Hiro E Pae at Astilleros Armon Vigo in Spain, according to bound4blue.
The installation was completed before the vessel’s planned delivery to French Polynesian operator Société de Navigation des Australes SNA Tuha’a Pae Shipping Company.
The Cotenaval-designed ship is the first known multipurpose vessel of its kind to use a wind-propulsion system. The automated suction sail is expected to reduce energy consumption by about 10% and improve the vessel’s Energy Efficiency Design Index and Carbon Intensity Indicator performance.
The 89-metre Na Hiro E Pae is designed to carry up to 200 passengers and 1,500 tonnes of cargo between Tahiti and the Austral Islands. Its efficiency package also includes electric pod propulsion, engines capable of using biofuel or e-fuel, waste-management systems and onboard freshwater autonomy.
French Polynesian transport documents included in the supplied material give the vessel 35 cabins, capacity for 199 passengers and a planned frequency of 28 voyages a year, including 12 calls at Rapa. They also indicate that Na Hiro E Pae will replace or supplement capacity provided by Tuha’a Pae IV.
The installation is confirmed, but the start of commercial service remains unclear. The supplied material states that an official SNA schedule lists the first published voyage for 18 December 2026, while Tuha’a Pae IV remains scheduled on the route in August.
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Cantabria, bound4blue develops automated suction-sail systems for newbuild and retrofit projects and has offices in Barcelona, Singapore, Shanghai and Suzhou. It has installed eSAIL systems on 12 ships, with six more vessels in its orderbook and more than 50 sails represented across the fleet and orders.
SNA Tuha’a Pae Shipping Company is the French Polynesian vessel operator, while Astilleros Armon Vigo is the Spanish shipyard handling the installation. Cotenaval designed the vessel.