German Company Readying Launch of Kite-Powered Ocean Freighter
Posted 11 Dec, 2007 under Tech by Chris Baskind
Imagine a huge ocean-going freighter — being towed by a kite the size of a football field.
That’s what a German company is setting out to do. Beluga Shipping says the MV Beluga SkySails will be towed along by a parachute-like kite a thousand feet above the ship. While the Sky Sails will be equipped with conventional propulsion, designers believe the kite assist will trim fuel consumption by 10 to 15 percent. That adds up, particularly when you consider that the Sky Sails and her future sisters are intended for long haul shipping.
The company which builds the colossal kites is also called Sky Sails. They’re know for fitting private yachts with much smaller sails, but this is their most ambitious project yet. A test vessel, the MS Beaufort, has successfully completed sea trials and is now being used to train crew for Beluga’s windpower fleet.
Beluga hopes their investment in sky sail technology will do more than just save precious fuel. The idea is also to reduce the company’s net emissions of carbon dioxide. The European Union’s drive to cut down on the release of greenhouse gases is perhaps the world’s most stringent set of environmental stadards.
If all goes according to plan, Beluga will add several kite-powered ships to its company fleet. Sky Sails hopes to have fitted approximately 1500 ships with kites by the middle of the next decade.
Link: Beluga Shipping (via ENN)
2 Responses to “German Company Readying Launch of Kite-Powered Ocean Freighter”
snarfd will never publish or share your address.
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Snarf the Feed
Interesting use of old technology.
- Dave Dragon
Ride it like you stole it
I,m teacher at Merchant Marine Academy Tampico, Mexico. Due several questions about energy save methods, I told my studets about this good option (hybrid). I´ll like to do more research regads your amazing kite-sail propulsion.
Thank you.
Patrick
Chief Eng.