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The International Windship Association reckons that over 3,000 cargo vessels will be using sails in some form by mid-2030, and with the right market incentives in place that figure could be even higher.
Indeed, the shipping industry is looking to the past, with some modern tech, to slash its huge carbon footprint with the power of wind.
Globally, more than 100,000 ships transport more than 80% of products, but it’s also responsible for about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions and without a quick transition from dirty fuels to cleaner energies, pollution is expected to soar.
Mariners are now pushing for wind power, and investors are no longer looking at sails on a cargo vessel as something of a joke. The pioneers of modern sail-powered cargo ships are having the last laugh, and with modern technology, they are supercharging cargo sailboats.
“It’s our job to prove that it’s possible,” Jourdan said aboard the new Grain de Sail II cargo carrier as it sailed off the French port of Saint-Malo one recent autumn day.
“For me, it’s just logical, you know? Like the petrol is limited quantity and the wind is not.”
The cleanest of the new vessels spearheading wind’s embryonic revival are almost pure-sail vessels like Grain de Sail II. Half the length of a soccer field and able to carry 350 tons of goods in its holds, it uses its diesel engine only to manoeuvre in and out of port.
“We want to not only reduce the carbon footprint, we want to kill it,” said Jacques Barreau, co-founder of the Grain de Sail firm with his twin brother, Olivier. They used profits from their chocolate-making and coffee-roasting business in western France to finance their first sail-powered cargo ship, Grain de Sail I.
With its aluminium hull, two giant carbon-fibre masts, mechanized systems for hauling and adjusting the billowing sails, and its bridge bristling with high-tech navigation gear, Grain de Sail II is a supercharged modern successor to sailing clippers of yore.
“It’s a totally different way of sailing.”
The speediest of its four crossings so far to New York took 17 days, and just 15 days on the return trip to Saint-Malo.
Wind power works equally well for the giant carriers as well. Wind-assisted systems are also being fitted to engine-powered cargo ships, all the way up to the massive 340-meter Sea Zhoushan.
Although wind-assisted ships account for a small proportion of the worldwide fleet, their numbers are increasing at an unprecedented rate, with an estimated 165 cargo ships currently using wind or planning to install wind-assisted equipment.
Wind propulsion methods include rotor sails, kites, hard and soft sails, and suction wings. The technique has also gained popularity in other areas, such as tankers, bulk carriers, and general cargo boats.
In the European Union, larger cargo ships have to start paying for some of their emissions from 2025 and adhere to new EU regulations that aim to promote low-carbon fuels – all of which could strengthen wind’s appeal.
“Ultimately, wind-assisted propulsion is going to help with the global transition for even the largest segments of the cargo shipping sector,” said Bryan Comer, who heads up efforts to decarbonize shipping at the non-profit International Council on Clean Transportation.
“Shipping originally was completely wind-powered. We know that it works, right?”
Whether by sailboat or rowboat, moving cargo from origin to destination may seem simple enough, but when faced with the myriad factors that need to be considered, one could be forgiven for wanting to lie down and wish it all away.
Berry & Donaldson, one of South Africa’s largest privately owned logistics companies has been helping our importers and exporters navigate the labyrinth that is international freighting for over half a century.
[source:yahoonews]
