Definitely not a containership
I saw the headline and immediately shook my head. There may indeed be an application for sails on bulk carriers, but containerships, well, not so much. With a five high (or higher) stack of boxes on deck, containerships have exactly the stability they need – no more, no less. Adding sails without removing cargo capacity could be a challenge. I clicked on the link and had to smile. The drawing was of a tanker with hybrid solar cell sails, and not a containership. Tankers generally have no shortage of stability. Even Sail-World should know the difference between containerships and tankers. I guess the moral of the story is that not all ships are containerships and you have to take what you read in the press with a proverbial grain of salt. The designs by Eco Marine Power look very interesting, nevertheless.
This seems to be media ‘par-for-the-course’ write first learn correct terms later. Does anyone in the media research anymore?
Good Watch.
I seem to recall when most ships were referred to generically as “tankers” whether or not they carried oil. Containerization appears to have made its way into the public consciousness, so now we may see everything referred to as a containership until the next thing comes along.
Just for the record, the system at this stage is intended for use onboard oil tankers and bulk carriers. As the post above highlights; containerships are a bit tricky in terms of stability and finding a place to mount the sails.
Cheers!
Greg
Eco Marine Power