US Navy First: Moving Cargo By Kite-Powered Ship »
Posted By pagey 1 month, 2 weeks ago in Science & TechnologyIn January of this year, the 132 meter (400 foot) Multi Purpose Heavy Lift Carrier MV Beluga SkySails set off on its maiden kite-powered trans-atlantic journey. Tugged along by 160 m2 of kite hovering 100 m (100 yards) over the ship's bow, the SkySails ship successfully completed its voyage in March. Now the MV Beluga SkySails is bound for the new world again: this time with U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force cargo loaded at three European ports. But is the military motivated by green, greenbacks or greenwashing?
The MV Beluga SkySails has been chartered by the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC). Use of the computer-controlled kite to assist the ship's diesel engines is expected to save 20-30% on fuel costs (or $1600 per day) over the course of the month-long transport. The MSC frequently charters commercial ships, but the October 2008 transport with a kite-powered ship is a first for the US Military.
Read Full Story at treehugger.com »
Submitted By:
pagey
Welcome to Propeller Everyone! I'm one of the Scouts, here to help.
Lets make this the best Social News Site there is!....
..Any problems ...
Also submitted:
Related Articles:
Join the Discussion 
+ Add Comment
Comments So Far: 1
-
0%
jdhatl1 month, 1 week ago
If all world wide shipping went to this method (which would not be as hard as you think) we would be living in an energy rich world and you could drive your SUV's in circles around town all day lond and never worry about it, gas in the U.S. would be at Venezuela prices.
Reply
Add a Comment
Please keep your comments relevant to this story.
To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.