The world鈥檚 largest sailing cargo ship is making its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. It left a port in France in early August, and it is on track to deliver 1000 tonnes of cognac and champagne to New York City by 3 September. Its shipments have a carbon footprint one tenth that of a standard container ship.
鈥淔or centuries we knew wind was abundant [over] the deep sea, and we had the pilot charts,鈥� says , CEO of TOWT, the French company that commissioned the 81-metre-long ship, named Anemos. 鈥淏ut now, thanks to satellite communication and routing technology, wind is also predictable, which makes it a reliable source of propulsion.鈥�
Anemos is no ancient seafaring vessel. Its cloth sails are deployed and handled using an automated system instead of human sailors, and its rigging system for controlling the sails was inspired by ocean racing vessels and designed using computer simulations.
Advertisement
This system lets Anemos transport one tonne of cargo over a kilometre while producing less than 2 grams of carbon emissions 鈥� a carbon footprint 10 times smaller than the huge container ships that transport most of the world鈥檚 goods, which emit at least 20 grams per tonne over a kilometre.
When primarily relying on wind power, the ship can reach speeds of more than 19 kilometres per hour 鈥� and it could potentially sail faster in stronger conditions such as the North Atlantic trade winds, says Le Grand. For backup propulsion, the ship uses two diesel-electric engines.
Anemos is part of a planned fleet of eight ships that could eventually transport 200,000 tonnes of goods annually while saving an estimated 40,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.
Still, the full impact of sailing cargo ships, and tanker ships that use wind-assisted propulsion technologies (WAPS), remains difficult to quantify. According to a by UK-based maritime services company Lloyd鈥檚 Register, 鈥淔irst is the uncertainty around actual fuel savings, with no standardised criteria for validating savings claims. The potentially hidden costs around WAPS 鈥� including the full scope of engineering work and operational costs 鈥� also contribute to uncertainty around the business case.鈥�
Despite this uncertainty, the report also predicts that 100 shipping vessels will incorporate wind propulsion within the next few years. Such sustainability measures can help the shipping industry work toward net-zero emissions goals, says at the International Windship Association, a nonprofit based in the UK. 鈥淭his ship and the development of the small sail cargo vessel sector is very important to deliver zero or ultra-low emissions options to cargo owners today,鈥� he says.
