Retrofit complexity and regulations are driving changes in drydock scheduling, collaboration and yard capabilities
Tanker repair and conversion yards are responding to a growing list of demands from owners seeking to improve fuel efficiency, comply with regulatory frameworks and reduce vessel off-hire during complex retrofit programmes. These pressures are reshaping workflows at key European yards, including Belgium’s EDR Antwerp Shipyard and Estonia-based BLRT Repair Yards.
The retrofit of Odfjell Tankers’ 49,000-dwt chemical tanker Bow Olympus with bound4blue suction sails illustrates the type of operational and logistical co-ordination now required to meet such demands. “The project answers to the core of our decarbonisation strategy, and we are eager to see that our calculations and expectations are confirmed,” said Odfjell vice president technology, Erik Hjortland.
Installed in 2025, four 22-metre eSAILs were fitted to the vessel in a two-phase approach, with structural and electronic work completed during a planned drydocking in Asia and final installation at EDR Antwerp. The methodology, designed to maximise productivity, reduced the total time off-hire to just two days.
