Once upon a time before the industrial revolution big sail ships roamed the seas discovering new worlds and transporting people and goods around the world.
Could we see a rebirth of big sail ships with the benefits of modern technology?
Sweden ship builders Wallenius Marine, with support from the swedish government, are currently designing a new 7000 vehicle car carrier powered by giant sails, though not the kind we traditionally associate with sailing ships. Instead imagine five 260 feet tall aircraft wings standing vertically from the ship, each able to be individually rotated to make best advantage of the wind available.
The shipping industry accounts for almost 3% of global man made greenhouse gas emissions and the 'Oceanbird' as this ship is called is estimated to output 1/10 of the usual CO2 output of a similar sized vessel per day, though an Atlantic crossing will take 12 days instead of the current 7.