A cargo ship was flown with a kite

Airseas has tested a giant Seawing kite. A sail of about 250 m² steered the vessel

with a cargo capacity of more than 21.5 thousand tons.The kite, which moves at a height of about 200 m to catch the wind, as conceived by the authors, should reduce the ship's consumption of "dirty" fossil fuels.

The technology was tested in December 2022 on boardVille de Bordeaux, which transports Arirbus aircraft components between the US and France. The device is fully automated: with a simple switch, the kite is automatically deployed and positioned downwind without the participation of the crew, helping to pull the ship forward. Once towing is no longer needed, the cable retracts and the kite folds back.

Test kite. Video: Airseas

The developers note that in addition to the proposedsolutions, the company is also developing a sail with a larger area of 500 m². The company plans to create a universal solution that will suit any ships.

It is noted that the Seawing system is already ready forOperational: Airseas completed the installation of a kite on a Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha vessel last week. This is the first commercial contract, it provides that a total of 51 ships of the company will be refitted.

Many companies are working on the return of sailsand wind energy in maritime transport. For example, Hitech previously talked about a Swedish company that launched a ship with rigid round sails and plans to build the largest passenger sailing yacht by 2026.

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Cover image: Airseas