From gCaptain:
Cargill, the world’s biggest agricultural commodities trader, plans to harness wind power by fixing massive wing sails to some of its cargo fleet of bulk ships (bulkers) to reduce fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions.
Shipping is responsible for about 90% of world trade, and it also accounts for almost 3% of man-made carbon-dioxide emissions. The industry has vowed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050, from 2008 levels. How it gets there and what new fuel technologies it uses to replace traditional petroleum-based ones is still up for grabs.
Cargill wants to add — in an as yet untested idea — solid wing sails, as high as 45 meters (148 feet), attached to the decks of cargo ships with specially designed hulls which the trader and its partners say could reduce fuel use by as much 30%. Minnesota-based Cargill has some 600 vessels under charter at any given time.
“What we like about wind and what we like about this concept most is you are reducing fuel,” Jan Dieleman, president of Cargill’s ocean transportation business, said in an interview from Geneva.
The initiative will improve the efficiency of whichever new fuels — from hydrogen to liquefied natural gas — are eventually adopted, Dieleman said.
“You have to put this in between what the new fuels are and what we can do today,” Dieleman said. “This is kind of in the middle of those two timelines.”
Carbon Costs Os [sic] Shipping
Some major ship charterers and owners, including oil and metals trading giant Trafigura Group, have proposed a levy on carbon dioxide emissions to reduce the industry’s footprint and meet climate targets.
The new wind sail venture, which could see MR2 tanker ships each fitted with three wings on the water by 2022, is being completed in partnership with BAR Technologies, a U.K. firm spun-off from Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) — the eponymous British sailing team of the Olympic medalist and America’s Cup winner. No specific financial details were disclosed....
....MUCH MORE
The press release from the manufacturer, BAR Technologies does not give any details of the sails, nor does their j.v. page.
As far as I know this ship, Germany's Preußen, had the largest area of sail, 73,000 square feet, 1.7 acres (6,806.0 m2, .68 hectares)
Wind in the Rigging
Those sails were rather labor intensive and things were always breaking at the worst possible time. Here's the New Zealand ship "Garthsnaid":
—National Library of New Zealand
I would not have liked that job.
