">Japanese shipping major Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) has signed a 20-year agreement with Airseas to install and service one of its vessels with Seawing, an automated kite based on parafoil technology used to tow commercial ships through wind propulsion.
">According to the line, this will reduce CO2 emissions by 20%.
">Once the first Seawing has been successfully delivered, the line has hinted at a further order of 50.
“Seawing reduces the environmental footprint of capesize vessels by 5 200 tons of CO2 a year depending on the vessel voyage route,” says K Line’s Mr Asano.
“This will help us to achieve our goal of reducing CO2 emissions by half, by 2050.
Seawing combines aeronautical know-how with maritime technology, according to a spokesman. A simple switch launches or recovers the kite which unfolds, operates and refolds autonomously.
