December 4, 2006 8:23 AM PST
The SkySails system has been used on the open seas on a pair of smaller ships, including the MS Beaufort, a 55-meter, 800-ton former buoy tender. The company says the system could contribute the equivalent of as much as about 6,800 horsepower. The 5-year-old company says that the new technology can cut annual fuel costs by between 10 percent and 35 percent, with spurts of energy savings--under optimal wind conditions--of up to 50 percent.
The benefit to the environment would come from the reduced burning of fossil fuels. Big container ships and oceangoing tankers burn a relatively cheap, but dirty fuel--components of crude oil unusable for the production of gasoline or diesel fuel, according to SkySails. Commercial shipping is a major contributor of climate-affecting substances along with automotive vehicles and general industry.
Photo by SkySails
