Shipping searches for clean solutions

Changing polluting maritime technologies is like turning the proverbial supertanker. But the options are out there if the industry will take the plunge.

When a vast steel rig and glass sail is fitted on board a ship this summer, engineers in the south of Sweden will breathe a sigh of relief. Rigid sails that can crank up to their 40-metre height on the open seas, or tilt down flat on deck when the ship is in port, have presented a hefty engineering challenge, but they’re a promising choice for commercial shipping, which today still runs mostly on heavy fuel oil. Innovations such as these are essential – the days of fossil fuel ships are numbered.

Beside the sea at Landskrona in southern Sweden, engineers at Oceanbird have been testing a land-based prototype steel mast and aerofoils before fitting the real thing on the ship Tirranna when it docks this summer, ahead of trials on the open seas in varying winds and waves. When storm winds strike, the sails will automatically tilt down for safety.

Harnessing the wind is nothing new in the maritime sector, but today’s sleek foils are a world away from the past. A host of innovations are emerging as parts of the sector seek to decarbonise. 

Read the story here:

https://eandt.theiet.org/2025/09/04/shipping-searches-sustainable-solutions