Sail-powered cargo ships return to the carbon footprint

But Jourdan’s salary bump buys him peace of mind. With his 3-year-old son, Marcel, growing up, the French sailor wants to explain what he did to get lost in the shipping industry. a large amount of carbon dioxide.

The world’s merchant fleet of more than 100,000 ships carries more than 80% of the world trade. But it also causes about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Without change quickly from black oil to clean energy, pollution is expected to rise.

Ship operators pushing for wind power say investors saw them as a joke. But like them the pioneer is back to the sail-driven cargo ships, having the last laugh.

“It’s our job to prove it’s possible,” Jourdan said aboard the new cargo ship Grain de Sail II as it departed the French port of Saint-Malo on a recent day.

“To me, it makes sense, you know?” he said. “Like the fuel is low and the wind is low.”

Modern technology and super yachts

The cleanest of the new ships that lead the embryonic revival are almost sailing ships like the Grain de Sail II. Half the length of a football field and capable of carrying 350 tons of cargo in place, it uses its own diesel engine to move in and out of port.

“We don’t want to reduce emissions, we want to kill,” said Jacques Barreau, co-founder of Grain de Sail with his twin brother, Olivier. They used the profits from their chocolate and coffee roasting business in western France to pay for their first cargo ship, the Grain de Sail I.

With its aluminum hull, two large carbon-fibre hulls, a mechanical system for pulling and adjusting sails, and its bridge full of advanced navigation equipment, Grain de Sail II is supercharged modern successor to old clippers.

His fastest of four crossings so far in New York took 17 days, with only 15 days on the return trip to Saint-Malo.

“It’s a very different way to travel,” Barreau said. He foresees a future with “thousands of carriers (ships) like this and bigger.”

Wind power even for giant carriers

Wind-assisted fuel storage systems are also being installed in engine-driven cargo ships, up to a maximum length of 340 meters (1,115-foot). Sea Zhoushan.

It carries iron ore and was built in China with five large turbines on its surface that use wind power. When the ship enters 2021, the Brazilian mining giant Vale it said it expects fuel savings of up to 8% on its 40-day flights between Brazil and China.

Norsepower of Finland, rotor manufacturerIt is said to have installed 16 ships since its inception in 2014 and has another 13 ships planned.

Although wind-powered ships are only a small part of the world’s fleet, their numbers are increasing more than ever, said Clarksons Research, which monitors shipments. By his count, 165 cargo ships are already using wind to some extent or as a result of wind-assisted systems.

In European UnionLarge cargo ships must start paying for some emissions from 2025 and follow new EU regulations which aims to promote low carbon fuel.

Such a pressure can cause the attraction of the wind.

“Ultimately, wind-assisted driving will contribute to the world’s transition to even the largest portion of freight shipping,” said Bryan Comer, who oversees decarbonization efforts at the International Council on Clean Transportation.

“We know it works, right? Transportation in the past they were strong with the wind.”

What happens when the wind doesn’t blow?

But the wind – unlike the engine – cannot be turned on at the touch of a button.

French carrier Neoline is open about saying that when its new 136-meter (446-foot) carrier enters service in 2025, it will use its own diesel engine as wind alone will not meet its goal of 13 days between French ports. of Saint-Nazaire and Baltimore on the east coast of the US.

“We want to save time,” says the president of Neoline, Jean Zanuttini. “It wasn’t speed that killed sailors in the early 1900s, it was lack of punctuality.”

“We accept and realize that about 30% of our energy will come from diesel,” he said.

However, another 70% from the new Neoliner range of large sails – made with it fiberglass panels, not canvas – is expected to reduce its fuel consumption and be another step towards the wind.

“We will learn and we are doing well,” Zanuttini said. “And tomorrow we will build larger ships, more specialized in certain aspects, and more efficient at every level.”

Grain de Sail III is already on the board

After the commercial launch of Grain de Sail I in 2020 and Grain de Sail II in March, the Barreau twins are working to raise funds for a third boat, Salt Salt III. It will increase the length of the existing structure and carry eight times more cargo, while lowering the cost. Grain de Sail hopes to have it in place by 2027.

But he says his core philosophy will remain the same: The supercar will also use wind power alone, except for port drives. This efficiency reduces its fleet’s emissions to a fraction of the emissions from oil-powered ships, the company says.

With a large gold ring in his left ear and gray beard, Jourdan looks like a pirate as he stares at the sails of Grain de Sail II and tugs at the sails to see if he’s getting tired of the wind.

He vows that there will be no return to oil tankers for him.

“To me now, it’s a dirty business,” he said. “I just want to do something I’m proud of.”