On Wed, Feb 4, 2009 at 10:17 PM, Steven L. Robinson
<srobin21 at comcast.net> wrote:
> Parasails Can Move Ships
>
> By Maricel Drazer*
> Terramerica
> February 4, 2009
>
> Düsseldorf, Germany - They say that faith can move mountains. Now, faith in
> the wind has led to a new way to move ships. The technique, developed in
> Germany, is powerful enough to move today's deep-draught cargo vessels and
> can reduce fuel consumption by 50 percent.
>
> An adapted parasail is attached to the ship by cables that can be adjusted
> according to the direction and intensity of the winds. It is activated
> automatically, guided by an on-board computer.
>
> A 160-square-metre parasail can use the wind to create a traction force of
> up to eight tonnes, nearly the same push produced by an engine of an Airbus
> A318 aircraft.
>
> With the parasail system, ships can cut their annual fuel use by 10 to 30
> percent, reaching 50 percent under optimal wind conditions.
>
> In a way it is a return to navigation's origins, prior to the development of
> steam or diesel powered engines, when sails dominated the seascape.
>
> But now, instead of a tall mast with a mainsail attached to it, the large
> parasail - like a giant parachute - can move in all directions. Its function
> does not replace, but rather complements the power produced by the engines.
>
> The mind behind this return to the wind is Stephan Wrage, born in the
> northern German port city of Hamburg. He is an engineer and an aficionado of
> sailing and paragliding.
>
> "The idea came to me 15 years ago. I was paragliding on the beach and I
> wondered if this enormous drag force couldn't be used also to move boats,"
> Wrage told Tierramérica.
>
> In 2001, the SkySails company opened its doors, and began manufacturing this
> new parasail for ships. In 2007 it began its pilot testing on international
> routes aboard two cargo ships.
>
> The use of wind as a driving force for navigation has met modern technology,
> notes Peter Schenzle, an advisor for the HSVA, a maritime industries
> research and development group in Hamburg.
>
> Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the project is that the parasails are
> pollution free: wind is a clean energy source - and abundant on the high
> seas.
>
> There would be great advantages to its widespread use, given that 90 percent
> of the goods traded in the world is transported by boat along at least one
> portion of its path from producer to consumer.
>
> Currently, there are more than 100,000 ships on the world's seas. The global
> fleet is predicted to increase 75 percent by 2020. Average fuel consumption
> of a 100,000-horsepower ship is 12 to 15 tonnes per hour.
>
> According to industry estimates, global maritime traffic is thus responsible
> for some 800 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
>
> Although maritime transport is comparatively less polluting than other modes
> of transport, new regulations are being considered in order to monitor and
> limit greenhouse gas emissions from ships.
>
> In fact, the International Maritime Organisation, an agency of the United
> Nations, is drafting standards for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from
> ship traffic, after doing the same in 2008 for sulphur dioxide emissions.
>
> Furthermore, one of the most enticing questions about the parasail
> technology is how it can reduce a ship's operating costs, 90 percent of
> which is fuel.
>
> "We decided to use the SkySails system to preserve the environment, to save
> resources and, in the long term with gas and oil prices, to continue being
> competitive," said Gerd Wessels, director of the Wessels shipping company
> and owner of one of the ships already using the parasail.
>
> Depending on the size, the price of the system varies from 500,000 to 3.5
> million dollars. According to SkySails, the investment is recovered in three
> to five years.
>
> In the second half of 2009, the company will begin assembly-line manufacture
> of the product. With orders already in place from Germany, Norway and other
> European countries, it has already surpassed production capacity for the
> first year.
>
> (*This story was originally published by Latin American newspapers that are
> part of the Tierramérica network. Tierramérica is a specialised news service
> produced by IPS with the backing of the United Nations Development
> Programme, United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank.)
>
> (END/2009)
>
> http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45672
>
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