To cut costs and carbon emissions, cargo ships are putting a new spin on an ancient technology: the sail. These aren’t the sailboats of yore. Modern sails look more like airplane wings, smokestacks or balloons, and they use artificial intelligence to catch the wind with little help from mariners who long ago forgot the art of hoisting a mainsail. Sails can reduce an existing ship’s fuel consumption - and greenhouse emissions - by something like 10 or 20 percent, according to maritime experts, making them an attractive option for ship owners looking to cut costs or comply with environmental regulations. Ships burn some of the world’s dirtiest fuels and generate roughly 3 percent of global emissions, a share that’s only expected to rise over time, according to the United Nations. The European Union created a cap-and-trade system for shipping emissions earlier this year, and the U.N. International Maritime Organization is finalizing its own emissions rules now that would penalize the owners of dirty vessels. Rather than sending those dirty vessels to the scrapyard, companies can install sails to clean up some of their emissions and extend their ships’ lives. And as the industry eventually moves toward alternative fuels that are low-carbon but high-cost, saving money on fuel will become even more important. There are now 39 large commercial ships with sails, according to the International Windship Association, an industry group that represents sailmakers, ship owners and ship designers. That’s a drop in the bucket compared to the roughly 100,000 cargo ships plying the seas, but the technology seems poised to take off as sails move from test projects to real-world use. Sailmakers are building new factories to meet the expected demand. “We’re at an inflection point,” said Matthew Collette, a professor of naval architecture and marine engineering at the University of Michigan. “We’re going to see this coming very quickly to a... |