Within the next 20 years the maritime cargo transportation sector will have to undergo a transformation to cope with higher fuel costs and regulatory changes while remaining agile and efficient. The Albatross Clipper Company is developing advanced sailing vessels which will match the speeds of conventional shipping while using a small fraction of the fuel, sharply reducing the largest cost center of the industry while at the same time regulatory exposure and environmental impacts. The ACC is paving the way towards a more sustainable, more connected future.
Tackling Major Problems
Today over 80% of all trade goes through the ocean, but the industry is beset by a myriad of deep economic, regulatory, and environmental issues. This has made the industry increasingly unattractive and threatens to end or even reverse the growth containerization bought. With slow steaming and the greater unloading times of ULCVs shipping times are approaching those of the pre-containerization era while costs threaten to double in the EU over the next few decades as a number of different fuel taxes are implemented.
Developing Sailing Cargo
In the intervening decades since sailing ceased to be industrially relevant it has seen a wide variety of technological developments pushed by racing and hobbyists. With fuel costs rising each year, growing regulatory pressure to decarbonize, and increasing concern about the environmental effects of CO2 emissions sailing cargo is poised to both provide profit and solve environmental quandries.