France’s SAINT-MALO (AP) Yann Jourdan believes he would be making maybe four times as much money as he does today as the skipper of a yacht that harnesses the wind’s clean energy to move products across the Atlantic if he had kept working on fuel-powered cargo ships.
However, Jourdan is gaining peace of mind as a result of the pay cut. The muscular French mariner hopes to be able to explain his actions to reduce the shipping industry’s carbon footprint when his 3-year-old son, Marcel, is older.
Over 80% of world trade is transported by the more than 100,000 ships that make up the worldwide merchant fleet. However, it also accounts for around 3% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Pollution is expected to increase if dirty fuels are not quickly replaced with greener energy sources.
Wind-powered mariners claim that investors once thought they were a joke. However, they are enjoying the last laugh as they spearhead a resurgence of sail-powered cargo ships.
As the new Grain de Sail II freight carrier sailed off the French port of Saint-Malo one recent autumn day, Jourdan stated, “It’s our job to prove that it’s possible.”
It just makes sense to me, you know? “I said.” For example, there is a limited supply of gasoline, but not of wind.
Sailboats are being supercharged by modern technology.
Grain de Sail II and other nearly pure-sail vessels are the cleanest of the new vessels leading the wind’s embryonic rebirth. Only its diesel engine is used to go in and out of port; it is half the length of a soccer field and can accommodate 350 tons of cargo.
Jacques Barreau, who co-founded the Grain de Sail company with his twin brother Olivier, stated, “We want to not just reduce the carbon footprint, we want to kill it.” They financed their first sail-powered cargo ship, Grain de Sail I, with the money they made from roasting coffee and making chocolate in western France.
With its aluminum hull, two giant carbon-fibre masts, mechanized systems for hauling and adjusting the billowing sails, and its bridge bristling with high-tech navigation gear, Grain de Sail II is asupercharged modern successorto sailing clippers of yore.
The quickest of its four trips to date, to New York, took 17 days, while the return trip to Saint-Malo took only 15 days.
According to Barreau, it’s an entirely different approach to sailing. He sees thousands of sailing freight (vessels) like this one and much larger ones in the future.
Even for massive vessels, wind power
Engine-powered cargo ships, such the enormous 340-meter (1,115-foot) Sea Zhoushan, are also being equipped with wind-assisted fuel-saving devices.
It was constructed in China and has five massive spinning rotors on its deck that use wind energy to move iron ore. Brazilian mining behemoth Vale stated that it anticipates fuel savings of up to 8% on its 40-day trips between Brazil and China when the ship goes into service in 2021.
The rotor maker, Norsepower of Finland, reports that since installing its first one in 2014, it has done so on 16 ships and has 13 more ships ordered.
Although wind-assisted vessels are just a tiny fraction of the global fleet, their numbers are growing at unprecedented rates, says Clarksons Research, which tracks shipping data. By its count, 165 cargo ships are already using wind to some degree or are due to have wind-assisted systems installed.
Inthe European Union, larger cargo ships have to start paying for some of their emissions from 2025 and adhere tonew EU regulationsthat aim to promote low-carbon fuels.
Such pressure could strengthen wind s appeal.
Ultimately, wind-assisted propulsion is going to help with the global transition for even the largest segments of the cargo shipping sector, said Bryan Comer, who heads up efforts to decarbonize shipping at the non-profit International Council on Clean Transportation.
We know that it works, right? Shipping originally was completely wind-powered.
What happens when the wind doesn t blow?
But wind unlike engines can t be switched on at the touch of a button.
French shipper Neoline is open about the fact that when its new 136-meter (446-foot) carrier begins sailing in 2025, it will use its diesel engine when winds alone can t meet its target of 13-day crossings between the French port of Saint-Nazaire and Baltimore on the U.S. eastern seaboard.
We re aiming for punctuality, says Neoline s president, Jean Zanuttini. It wasn t speed that killed working sailing at the start of the 20th century, it was lack of punctuality.
We accept and recognize the fact that about 30% of our energy will come from a diesel system, he said.
Still, the other 70% from the Neoliner s new type of giant sails made withfiberglass panels, not canvasis expected to slash its fuel-use and be another step forward for wind.
We are going to learn and we are going to improve, Zanuttini said. And tomorrow we ll build ships that are bigger, that are more specialized for certain goods, and more efficient at every level.
Grain de Sail III already on the drawing board
After the commercial launch of Grain de Sail I in 2020 and of Grain de Sail II this March, the Barreau twins are working to finance a third boat,Grain de Sail III. It will double the length of its predecessor and carry eight times more cargo, driving down costs. Grain de Sail hopes to have it in service by 2027.
But it says its core philosophy will remain unchanged: The bigger ship will also use only wind power, except to maneuver in ports. That rigor shrinks its vessels carbon footprint to just a small fraction of the emissions from fuel-powered vessels, the firm says.
With a large golden ring in his left ear and bushy beard, Jourdan has the look of a pirate as he scrutinizes Grain de Sail II s rigging and tugs on its ropes to check their tautness in the wind.
He swears there ll be no going back to fuel-powered carriers for him.
For me now, it s a dirty business, he said. I just want to do something that I m proud of.
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