The age of wind-powered shipping returns

A vessel propelled by rigid sails, offering huge reductions in fuel usage, has embarked on its maiden voyage.

The Pyxis Ocean will travel from China to Brazil over the six weeks. Designed and developed by BAR Technologies, a company established in the wake of Sir Ben Ainslie’s 2017 America’s Cup sailing team, the prototype is operating by Cargill Ocean Transportation and could offer a 30% reduction in lifetime emissions compared with standard cargo ships. 

Powered by WindWings, these 37metre-high sails are fitted to the deck of a cargo vessel, and folded down when in port. Each of these could deliver fuel savings of around one-third, or roughly 1.5tonnes per day, although numbers could be higher for trans-ocean routes. 

‘I do predict by 2025 half the new-build ships will be ordered with wind propulsion. The reason I’m so confident is our savings: one-and-a-half tonnes of fuel per day. Get four wings on a vessel, that’s six tonnes of fuel saved, that’s 20 tonnes of CO2 saved, per day. The numbers are massive,’ John Cooper, CEO of BAR Technologies, told the BBC. ‘Cargill phoned us and said ‘could you invent a wind propulsion system for us? A system that we could put on our vessels and decarbonise the delivery of food around the globe.’

‘The maritime industry is on a journey to decarbonize—it’s not an easy one, but it is an exciting one. At Cargill we have a responsibility to pioneer decarbonizing solutions across all our supply chains to meet our customer’s needs and the needs of the planet,’ added Jan Dieleman, President of Cargill Ocean Transportation. ‘A technology like WindWings doesn’t come without risk, and as an industry leader – in partnership with visionary shipowner Mitsubishi Corporation – we are not afraid to invest.’ 

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