Sailing makes a comeback in wind-powered car carrier concept
09-11-20, 08:22 AM
#1
Sailing makes a comeback in wind-powered car carrier concept
Will hold 7,000 cars, make the North Atlantic crossing in 12 days
STOCKHOLM — A Swedish consortium aims to launch commercially by 2025 a wind-driven car carrier that will emit 90% less carbon dioxide than a conventional roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) cargo ship, it said on Thursday.
The 200-meter-long carrier will have a capacity for 7,000 cars and have a maximum height of 105 meters when its five 80-meter upright "wing sails" are fully extended — bringing to mind a futuristic version of the wings of a 19th-century clipper.
ADVERTISEMENT"This will of course challenge our habits, and when this vessel will be in the ocean sailing, it will be an odd bird," consortium partner Wallenius Marine Chief Operating Officer Per Tunell told an online news conference. "We are on track to make it possible for launching and putting this vessel in operation for late 2024."
The consortium said in a statement a North Atlantic crossing would take the ship around 12 days, against eight days for conventional vessels.
"The technology of the wing sails is quite similar to airplane wings," Wallenius Marine architect Carl-Johan Soder said, adding that the 90% emission reduction estimate was based on a North-Atlantic crossing at an average speed of 10 knots.
The vessel will have a fuel powered engine for operating in ports and for support when wind is very weak.
Tunell said the vessel would be slightly more expensive than a traditional RoRo carrier of comparable size.
Besides Wallenius Marine — which is controlled by the founding family of the Wallenius RoRo shipping group — the consortium includes Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology and shipping consultancy SSPA. The project is co-financed by the Swedish Transport Administration.
The 200-meter-long carrier will have a capacity for 7,000 cars and have a maximum height of 105 meters when its five 80-meter upright "wing sails" are fully extended — bringing to mind a futuristic version of the wings of a 19th-century clipper.
ADVERTISEMENT"This will of course challenge our habits, and when this vessel will be in the ocean sailing, it will be an odd bird," consortium partner Wallenius Marine Chief Operating Officer Per Tunell told an online news conference. "We are on track to make it possible for launching and putting this vessel in operation for late 2024."
The consortium said in a statement a North Atlantic crossing would take the ship around 12 days, against eight days for conventional vessels.
"The technology of the wing sails is quite similar to airplane wings," Wallenius Marine architect Carl-Johan Soder said, adding that the 90% emission reduction estimate was based on a North-Atlantic crossing at an average speed of 10 knots.
The vessel will have a fuel powered engine for operating in ports and for support when wind is very weak.
Tunell said the vessel would be slightly more expensive than a traditional RoRo carrier of comparable size.
Besides Wallenius Marine — which is controlled by the founding family of the Wallenius RoRo shipping group — the consortium includes Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology and shipping consultancy SSPA. The project is co-financed by the Swedish Transport Administration.
09-13-20, 04:24 PM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Good idea for saving fuel (ships, of course, sailed on wind-power for thousands of years). But it also can be risky in storm-conditions or high winds, as strong side-winds can also make ships capsize or lean (list) so much that the cargo is damaged.
09-13-20, 04:29 PM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
The "sail" fins are clearly retractable. I'm sure in inclement weather or when its not beneficial they retract. Same with any sailboat, when the wind endangers the boat, you just reduce sail or bring the sails in.
09-13-20, 04:41 PM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
I don't remember if I was wearing a life jacket or not (probably not)....it was in warm clear weather, but with some good wind gusts. Today, I wouldn't think of doing that without a life-jacket.....and it's a law in most places.Back to topic at hand....it will be interesting to see if the fuel-savings from having Mother Nature help the ships along drop the Destination fee for new vehicles any...which, today, can now average over $1000. When I do a full-review (I know...I haven't done many lately), I always list the destination fee.
09-13-20, 04:49 PM
#5
Lexus Fanatic
Thats pretty scary, but it is MUCH harder to make a substantial sailboat capsize. I spent much of my youth sailing, and my dad had a 41 foot sailboat. Most sailing mishaps are the result of people being in situations they shouldn't be in. It takes an ENORMOUS amount of force to capsize a real sailboat, this wont be an issue at all as long as its captained properly. You sail into a hurricane with those "sails" up, you're gonna have a problem.
Won't reduce destination costs. The acquisition costs of a ship like that will far and away eclipse the fuel cost of a traditional container ship. This is mainly an efficiency and environmental concept.
Won't reduce destination costs. The acquisition costs of a ship like that will far and away eclipse the fuel cost of a traditional container ship. This is mainly an efficiency and environmental concept.
09-13-20, 05:01 PM
#6
Lexus Fanatic
That's a fair point. No, brand-new ships don't come cheap.....especially with state-of-the-art environmental features. Even more could be saved, though, if they didn't have to ship vehicles across oceans to start with....which, for us, of course, would mean U.S. or Canadian production.
Yeah, I know, I just ordered a new vehicle from Korea...but, for reasons I explained in other threads, I felt Korea-vs.-China was clearly the lesser of two evils, and Korea is at least our ally.
09-13-20, 05:14 PM
#7
Lexus Fanatic
I spent much of my youth sailing, and my dad had a 41 foot sailboat. Most sailing mishaps are the result of people being in situations they shouldn't be in. It takes an ENORMOUS amount of force to capsize a real sailboat, this wont be an issue at all as long as its captained properly. You sail into a hurricane with those "sails" up, you're gonna have a problem.
Don't want to sound like a stereotype here, but if your dad had a 41-foot sailboat, you must have come from a generally well-heeled family. You have already told us about his early-90s Continental.
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09-14-20, 08:07 AM
#8
I've been in a capsized sail-vessel (a small one-person one that was basically a big surfboard with a sail)...back in my early 30s. Fortunately, with my good physical shape (I had quit smoking years earlier), swim-training at the Red Cross as a kid, and the relatively small size of the lake, I was able to hold onto the capsized vessel with one arm and paddle back to shore with the other arm. (and no bad creatures in the water bit me LOL)
With a ballasted keel it would be extremely difficult to capsize a ship of that size unless it were grossly mismanaged. If it did capsize, the standing on the keel trick might not work as well though.
09-14-20, 08:27 AM
#9
Lexus Fanatic
I remember the vessel very well, but I had forgotten the name.
09-14-20, 12:18 PM
#10
Lexus Fanatic
Its actually not as expensive as you would think. You can buy a nice, used sailboat that size for low-mid $100k range. Lenders will finance boats for 20 years. The interest is actually tax deductible as a second home since it has bedrooms, kitchen and bathrooms. Boats like that also don't really depreciate that fast. Its really like buying a vacation home, it just floats on the water...if that makes sense.
I love sailing too, but I would never buy a boat. What I would do today is buy into fractional sailing, like timeshare sailing. Someone else maintains the boat, and I get a certain amount of time on it every year. When its your boat you have to clean it and all when you come in, worry about it when the weather is bad, fix crap when it breaks, and you feel like all your vacation leisure time must be spent on the boat to make it worthwhile.
09-16-20, 05:09 AM
#12
Lexus Champion
Even if they got these ships for free, automakers wouldn't reduce destination costs.
09-16-20, 06:03 AM
#13
Lexus Champion
09-16-20, 07:03 AM
#14
Lexus Fanatic
True lol
09-16-20, 07:40 AM
#15
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by Sdls
They are profit centers, after all.