A cargo ship equipped with giant, specially made wind-powered sails of British design has departed on its maiden voyage.
The ship’s charterer, shipping company Cargill, anticipates that the technology will assist the sector in navigating the transition to a more environmentally friendly future.
Reducing fuel consumption and, consequently, the carbon footprint of shipping is the goal of using the wing-sized rigid WindWings sails.
The industry is thought to be responsible for about 2.1 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
The Pyxis Ocean will make its maiden voyage from China to Brazil, offering the first opportunity to evaluate wind-wing technology in a real-world setting.
They are closed when the ship is in port and opened when it is at sea. They are made of the same material used in wind turbine construction to make them durable and are 123 feet (37 point 5 meters) tall.
It is hoped that eventually a cargo ship’s lifetime emissions will be reduced by 30% by allowing it to be propelled by the wind rather than just its engine.
The industry, according to Jan Dieleman, president of Cargill Ocean transportation, is on a “journey to decarbonize.”. He acknowledged that there was “no silver bullet,” but claimed that this technology showed how quickly things were evolving.
“Five, six years ago, if you would ask people in shipping about decarbonisng, they would say ‘well, it’s going to be very difficult, I don’t see this happening any time soon’,” he told the BBC.
“Five years later, I think the narrative has changed completely and everybody is really convinced that they need to do their part – everybody is just struggling a little on how we’re going to do this.
“That’s why we’ve taken the role as one of the larger players to underwrite some of the risk, and try things, and take the industry forward.”
Source-BBC
