Posted on 12/17/2021 11:51:10 AM PST by Red Badger
Airseas has fitted its first automated sail to an Airbus-chartered cargo ship, promising impressive efficiency and emissions gainsAirseas VIEW 3 IMAGES
French company Airseas has installed its first half-size automated Seawing kite to a cargo ship chartered by Airbus, and will commence six months of trials in January. The full-size kite is estimated to save up to 20 percent of fuel burn and emissions.
The US$30-million, 154-meter (505-ft) Ville de Bordeaux, owned and operated by Louis Dreyfus, is currently on a long-term lease to Airbus, which uses it to move large aircraft structures between its distributed manufacturing plants around Europe and its final assembly plant in Toulouse.
Now, it's been fitted with a 500-square-meter (5,400-sq-ft) parafoil kite, plus all the deck and bridge equipment required to run the Seawing system. The Seawing deploys automatically, first emerging from storage on a trolley, then raising up from the deck on a mast to catch the wind, and finally being released on a long cable to grab the steady, strong winds over about 200 m (656 ft) above sea level.
At this point, it begins a figure-eight trajectory at a speed over 100 km/h (62 mph), monitored and controlled by an automated system running on the ship that's programmed to place the kite for maximum traction power. The Seawing computers also interface with the ship's navigation systems, monitoring forward wind conditions and re-routing the ship to take the most efficient path possible without affecting its arrival time.
(Excerpt) Read more at newatlas.com ...
Unless you can feather your prop blades i figure about 100 yards/hour.
Jeezez. I wonder what the deployment and then reel-in process looks like. And how long. And how often is the wind likely within 25-45* at your aft.
Funny how things come full circle, who would have thought a Spinnaker could come in handy to save fuel. Considering they were used before fuel was used... lol
how do they actually get that thing inflated, helicopter lift?
or helium upper edge...
It works!! I ran out of gas on my pontoon a couple times, and that is how I made it back in!! gotta be a pretty big kite though for a freighter!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-hEvAiPUPI
Hmmmm …
As a sailor, I can say that cargo ships generally don’t care who else is out on the oceans …
Vessels “under sail” have navigation advantages under rights-of-way rules. This tech could signal an applicable rules change for cargo ships …
These cargo vessels will continue to disregard the maritime rights of others, no doubt, but this device will put them in another column of the law.
More thought required…
Excuse me stewardess I speak Jibe
You can make a Spinnaker for a canoe with a rectangle tarp... Works great...
Lol... I remember that movie, a classic. Different Jibe though, I get it... :)
Wonder how much they cost and their service life. How much sea life will die when the wind shifts or drops and the kite drops into the ocean. I’ve seen spinakers explode.
No wonder we needed so much damn cotton!.........................
WELL DONE! All you need is a tarp and gather it right and you have a Spinnaker!
(5,400-sq-ft) ...........................
Makes you wonder how ships sailed prior to steam engines....
Babylon Bee or The Onion
Just like forcing everyone on railway.
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