Wind-Powered Tall Ships Are Once Again Important As Oil Prices Hurt Trade
Sometimes it takes an energy crisis to make us realize the value of old technology. As oil prices soar, tall wind-powered ships are looking like an increasingly viable alternative.
The first commercial cargo of French wine to be transported by sailboat in the modern era is due to arrive in Dublin this week after a six-day trip. The 108 year-old British boat, chartered by French shipping company Compagnie de Transport Maritime a la Voile (CMTV), is carrying 30,000 bottles of wine.
Though the ship travels at a top speed of eight knots— half the speed of a modern cargo vessel—it is completely pollution-free. The 50,000 other merchant ships traveling the world emit 800 million tons of carbon dioxide each year.
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The Kathleen & May spent most of its life transporting coal and clay. It was taken out of commercial service in 1960. Now it’s once again hard at work, as CMTV has contracted for 80 vineyard owners from southern France to carry their wine bottles to Ireland on the ship. The company is also working on another deal to bring Irish whiskey and scotch to France using the boat, and it eventually plans on building its own tall ships for transport.
CMTV may be on to something; according to the French Association of Shipowners, wind-powered boats could capture .5% of the commercial shipping market. This may not sound like much—until you consider that 90% of the world’s traded goods are transported via boat.
Tall ships may move a bit slower than fossil-fuel powered ships, but their minimal environmental impact could make them sea trade’s best hope for the future.
http://www.skysails.info/index.php?L=1
This will be the future! 20 to 50% lower gas (or faster speed).
Wind-Powered Shipping Returns as As Oil Prices Soar | nerdd.net…
\r\n90% of the worlds traded goods are transported by boat. As oil prices soar, tall wind-powered sh…
[...] 90% of the world’s traded goods are transported by boat. As oil prices soar, tall wind-powered ships are looking like an increasingly viable alternative. Though this tall ship travels at a top speed of eight knots–half the speed of a modern cargo vessel–it is pollution-free. The 50,000 other merchant ships emit 800 million tons of CO2 each year. Wind-Powered Tall Ships Are Once Again Important As Oil Prices Hurt Trade : CleanTechnica [...]
I was thinking that the increase time on the trip mean more maintenance for crew. But since, someone said that these ships could still be run with minimal crew, it made me think that this really could be a viable alternative.
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These are luxury old world products that are in no hurry to get where they’re going.
I think the tallship adds romance and real value to the product. Wine is kept in oak barrels, ships are made of oak etc. It’s a natural fit and really good marketing.
You people need to get off the environmental train. Businessmen have not been deceived and subscribed to the eco fraud. Almost without exception, they do business to make a profit, not chase environmental causes.
[...] Wind-Powered Tall Ships Are Once Again Important As Oil Prices Hurt Trade [...]
Speed is not everything, my dears. Amazon has an option for some items called “super saver shipping”; if you can wait a few extra days it’s way cheaper because they can bundle the item with other things going to a node in your vicinity.
Some items don’t have to be rush shipped and can “get there when they get there.” Yes, there can be a problem with economies of scale, since no one really plans to outfit the Exxon Valdez (since renamed) with sails; but some routes can benefit from smaller vessels at lower cost.
I’d like to see schooners designed from the keel up for small crews, ballasted with enough batteries to take solar, wind and towed chargers to provide electric auxiliary engine with sufficient power to handle calms, harbors, and clawing away from lee shores as well as winching the sails and operating the cargo hoists (where port power is not available to hook up). Such ships, from fifty to three hundred tons displacement, could cover intracoastal and interisland commerce, Great Lakes, etc., for smaller loads competitively with what it’s going to be costing to move stuff with oil, or, God forbid, bunker coal.
& don’t have to be ugly, either!
[...] points from Obama’s campaign website, in order to highlight how he intends on dealing with oil prices and our dependence on [...]