Winds of Change: Swedish firm develops sails-driven cargo ship Oceanbird, to ferry 7000 cars across Atlantic

Imagine turning the clock back on time and revisiting the methods our ancestors used to move across the high seas. Imagine a greener world where shipping is not causing a huge dent in efforts to go green.

The answer is in sight… or rather on the horizon. Here comes “Oceanbird” – a Swedish company is developing a 200-metre long cargo ship that will be powered by wind.

But that will not be its sole source of power. It will have an engine as a backup. But running on the wind that will run through its wing sails, it will help save 90% of carbon emissions compared to a conventional ship.

Manufacturing this ship has involved a huge amount of scientific research and design exercise. Bringing it to fruition and building a functional ship has cost the manufacturer a huge sum of money initially as compared to a conventional car carrier but operation costs are expected to be lower.

Sweden’s Wallenius Marine AB, which designs and builds ships, is currently testing a sleek white model of an “Oceanbird” automobile carrier in a bay in the Baltic Sea.

Hopefully, this futuristic huge, wind-driven cargo ship could help end the fossil fuel era and limit climate change – as shipping accounted for 2.9% of man-made greenhouse gas in 2018.

Shipping has been a huge climate change culprit as the industry’s share of planet-heating emissions has been rising in recent years, confirm the UN’s International Maritime Organization, according to the World Economic Forum WEF).

Per Tunell, Wallenius’ chief operating officer, said results from the seven-metre model were encouraging and that he was “very confident” the full-scale Oceanbird will be ready to order by the end of next year. The sail-driven ship could be in service in 2024 on Atlantic routes, he said.

“Most of the other companies are focused on wind assistance. We are focusing on wind power. This is a sailing vessel,” Per Tunell, Wallenius’ chief operating officer added. Jakob Kuttenkeuler, a professor at the Swedish KTH Centre of Naval Architecture who is running tests for Oceanbird, said one research puzzle is what wind changes will be like as sails reach new highs above the sea surface.

Oceanbird’s wing sails, likely to be built from aluminium, steel and composite materials, will rise from a deck 35 metres above the water, reaching 105 metres (345 feet) above sea level.

According to a report on the site of Oceanbird-builder Wallenius AB’s website, “Oceanbird is a prime example of innovations that we really need” says Per Bolund, Sweden’s Minister for Financial Markets and spokesperson for the Swedish Green Party.

Wallenius Marine and KTH received Sweden’s Minister for Financial Markets Per Bolund at the KTH test lab, showing him a model of the wind-powered vessel Oceanbird.

“It’s incredibly inspiring to see these kinds of transformative ideas being developed. These ideas can have a huge impact on reducing emissions in the transport sector, particularly international freight transport. So far, there haven’t been enough good ideas.” said Per Bolund. The Swedish Minister also expressed hope that innovations like Oceanbird play an important part in getting to the goal of making Sweden climate neutral by 2045.