Is Wind Cargo Ships the Future of Cargo
By: Jesús Salazar
Tags: Innovation, Ideas, Transportation, Energy, Technology

Greenhouse gas emissions are certainly a problem around the world. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) estimates that Carbon dioxide emissions from shipping were equal to 2.2% of the global human-made emissions in 2012 and expects them to rise 50 to 250 percent by 2050 if no action is taken. We are very close that very soon, an advanced clean energy ship will be the ecological solution in the transportation of maritime cargo.

Sea transport can be acknowledged over any distance by boat, ship, sailboat, or barge, over oceans and lakes, through canals, or along rivers. Delivery might be for trade, amusement, or military purposes. While broad inland transportation is less basic today, the significant streams of the world including numerous waterways are still significant and are indispensable pieces of overall economies.

Basically, any material can be moved by water; in any case, water transport becomes unreasonable when the material conveyance is time-basic, for example, different sorts of short-lived produce.

There are two sectors of transportation, which have been shown to be difficult to work with in terms of achieving the “electrification” of your system. The automotive industry has already managed to take steps forward in its sector, which is crucial to reduce hazardous emissions and mitigate a climate crisis.

But we have good news on this topic within the ocean freight industry. Since Wallenius Marine announced in September a prototype that could change the future of this transportation sector.

We’re talking about reducing carbon emissions by a staggering 90 percent, a significant change for a global industry that currently carries a large carbon count. This new technology proposes to power a series of huge retractable “sails” that resemble the wings of an airplane, the so-called OceanBird will transport 7,000 cars (or their equivalent by weight) across the ocean.

The Oceanbird when fully extended, the vertical wing-shaped sails are 80 meters (262 feet) high and are able to propel the boat forward with the power of the air. This masterpiece of the ocean achieves an incredible speed almost at that of boats powered in the traditional way, that is, by fossil fuels.

Advances in technology are incredible, taking into consideration that the software will use mathematical algorithms to calculate how and when to adjust the sails of the boat, in order to constantly maximize its speed. These ongoing evaluations will allow the Oceanbird to reach up to 10 nautical miles per hour (knots) in order to complete a 12-day voyage across the Atlantic.

Companies that transport cargo in a traditional way need to calculate a large carbon footprint for their merchandise. Whereas the trips usually take 8 days.

These advances may also reach the cruise industry in the future, although perhaps not very near. Wallenius Marine voyages have a clean fuel system synchronized with an auxiliary motor that will move the ship in and out of ports very efficiently.

Oceanbird — the wind powered cargo vessel. Photo by (www.oceanbirdwallenius.com)

This company is still in the design phase, testing all this technology on scale models. However, the Swedish collaboration, which includes SSPA a naval technology company, and KTH (Royal Institute of Technology), is supported by the Swedish Transport Administration, which acts as a co-financier, and together they are receiving orders until 2021. to possibly deliver in 2024.

At the point when the main boat makes its launch, it will be an authentic event for the oceanic vehicles. The worldwide nautical association IMO has defined the objective of decreasing carbon dioxide outflows from global transportation by 40% by 2030. Ocean-bird will add to evolving, refreshing, and rebuilding a whole industry.

“We are pushing ahead, finding a manageable method to move freight over the Atlantic and around the globe with negligible ecological effect. Since change needs to occur. We need to be essential for the arrangement, driving the path in delivery. What’s more, drive advancement so Oceanbird can have any kind of effect. It is the start of another time and a continuation of our excursion towards really supportable transportation.” — Wallenius Marine.

A large number of years have passed since we figured out how to bridle the breeze so maritime vessels could travel quicker and further. The breeze helped us find our planet — now it can assist us with safeguarding it.