Hoist the mainsail -- a thing that looks like a giant vertical pipe -- and switch on your battery the size of a small bus: merchant shippers are trying out bold new approaches in their battle to improve environmental performance against a backdrop of mounting regulatory pressure.

Maersk Tankers A/S is testing two almost 100-foot-high rotor sails on one of its fuel carriers, while Norway’s Golden Energy Offshore Services AS this week said it ordered two of Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc’s battery-powered energy storage systems for it ships.

Read More

Posted on - 2018-08-31

Blue Technology designed the Liberty to maximize wind harvest, minimize frictional resistance from the air and sea, and eliminate the use of ballast water for stability. The result: a carbon fiber trimaran design emblematic of the sailboats competing in America’s Cup. The main power source of the Liberty is the wind. The average wind speed on the world’s oceans is around 7 m/s, which provides enough power for this ship to reach speeds of 18-22 knots. Since wind force is proportional to the cube of wind speed, wind speeds of 14 m/s increase the power output by a factor of eight. Traditionally, winds of this speed cannot be harnessed by sailboats due to stability concerns. The Liberty’s 55-meter wide trimaran hull, however, provides enough stability for the  Liberty to safely operate even at very high windspeeds.

Read More

Posted on - 2018-08-16

Four people are dead in Solomon Islands after a boat they were travelling on sank in rough seas. Provincial Police Commander Central Province, Superintendent Patricia Leta said the loading capacity was for six passengers but a total of 16 boarded the boat. She said least 12 people were confirmed to have survived the tragedy and there were children among the survivors

Read More

Posted on - 2018-08-16