• Ekky@sopuli.xyz
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    1 month ago

    Mærsk is testing wind and electrical power on their fleet. Won’t make the ships 100% self-sufficient, but will hopefully lower the impact of the vessels.

    Photo of the Maersk Trieste, a 183 meter long Chemical and Oil products tanker, after being retrofitted with 4 eSails. One of 5 ships to have undergone the fitting.

    • zaphod@sopuli.xyz
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      1 month ago

      Flettner rotors can cause fuel reductions of 10-20% [source]. Definitely not nothing, but you still need some way to fuel the ship, those rotors don’t turn on their own and are AFAIK not used as main propulsion.

      • wewbull@feddit.uk
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        1 month ago

        I’ve heard of these things called “sails”. Maybe they could look into those.

        • bluGill@fedia.io
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          1 month ago

          They work. However they are a lot slower - by enough that no shipping company can compete using them. I’m not clear on if they scale to the size of modern ships either.

          • wewbull@feddit.uk
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            1 month ago

            Pretty sure they don’t, at least not as a total replacement. Reducing fuel usage is still a possibility maybe.

            • bluGill@fedia.io
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              1 month ago

              They 100% work - just as well as they did in 1700. The slow speed means nobody will use them exclusively. I’m not sure if they need extra labor as well (assuming modern controls) but that is another potential reason nobody would use them. They couD though.