New Ship to track : Auriga Leader (Toyota’s Solar Powered Cargo Ship)

Sagebrush - That is a way cool shot. I've seen ads for that system in professional magazines that I subscribe to.

I doubt that it will really cut into the cost of ship operations but it's a great attempt.

I had an academy classmate many years ago that moved a large offshore floating oil platform with the use of temporary sails and a large ocean going tug. The fuels savings was just a percent or two but it was cost effective.

I would love to see an improvement to the environmental pollution contributed by the industry that I work in.

 

I've got a news article and picture(?) of a car carrier they just had built. Picture looks more like an aircraft carrier with windmills and dish collectors. Need more posts to post it.

 

09-01-2008 Toyota’s Next Hybrid: A Cargo Ship
No, it won’t have a Prius engine in it. Though Toyota is not involved in the building of the ship, it intends to supply the 60,000 tonne car carrier with cargo that the ship will transport. It will be capable of carrying 6,400 automobiles and will be equipped with 328 solar panels.
Nippon Yusen KK and Nippon Oil Corp will be building the ship to be used by Toyota. Solar panels capable of generating 40 kilowatts of electricity would be placed on top, helping to
conserve up to 6.5 percent of fuel oil used in powering diesel engines that generate electricity at any given moment.
It is scheduled to be complete in December.
There have been other ships with solar panels on them in the past, but this will be the first that will use the energy for propulsion. With an expected reduction in carbon dioxide
emissions of 1-2 percent (20 tonnes per year) for a relatively low price ($1.4 million), this should lead the way to more solar initiatives in the eco-unfriendly world of cargo shipping.

 

.2% could probably be enough to flush one toilet on this ship. I think it is to power the laser beams to shoot at the pirates.
You would think harnessing wind or hydro energy would be more useful on a ship. This will make a nice ad campaign. The world's greenest car delivered on the world's greenest ship.

 

[Particulars of Auriga Leader] Length Overall:199.99 mBreadth:32.26 mDepth:34.52 mCapacity:6,200 carsDeadweight Tonnage:18,758 tonsGross Tonnage:60,213 tonsBuilder:Kobe Shipyard and Machinery Works, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

 

Funny !