The world’s largest sail boat had its maiden voyage on October 13th. This ship is called the Neoliner Origion and is 450 feet long. The boat has been designed to transport high amounts of weight while using no emissions. It can stand up to 5,300 tons in the hold.
We made the switch to steamships more than 200 years ago and now some believe we are undoing the advancment due to new priorities. The Neoliner Origion goes 11 knots whereas the average cargo ship goes 16 knots, so the sails are slower but it will be up to the designers if the slight disadvantage is worth the lessening of the environmental impact.
The creation of the ship was undertaken by a team from the French Merchant Navy and they are being backed by the world’s largest luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, as well as the French spirits brand Cointreau, that’s doing everything they can to zero out their carbon emissions. “Until now, sailing ships could only transport modest volumes. Neoline is changing the game: entire containers can now be transported by sail, offering a concrete and scalable alternative to cargo ships powered by heavy fuel oil,” says company president Jean Zanuttini.
One advantage of using the trade winds over fuel is that pilots don’t need to wait or rely on port and harbor infrastructure for refueling. Some low-carbon container shipping methods rely on certain fuel blends unavailable in ports in certain countries, but the Neoliner removes the need for more CO2-equivalent emissions as well as not needing these chemical innovations, making it the best option for container shipping to and from low and middle-income countries.
The Origin actually sustained damage to the aft sail in a storm on the crossing, even so it was able to carry on with just one sail and its backup motor. This is known as “hybrid sailing” which is also an idea that Neoline and other companies have come up with. The hope is that it will be a quick and effective way to reduce the carbon footprint of container shipping, which is said to be responsible for 2% of total greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
