When fuel costs become sufficiently high and/or governmental air and water quality regulations become sufficiently heinous, the commercial shipping industry will look to sail power to assist petroleum-powered vessels. The industry has done this before and will do so again.
These worldwide economic and political conditions are upon us today. There is strong evidence that recent fuel cost increases will not be temporary this time, and environmental restrictions will become increasingly draconian.
Conventional masted sail solutions have inherent limitations which will continue to delay their application long past the point where wind assist can become cost-effective.
The ability to design massive sail power without the need for ballast, without fixed masts interfering with loading and unloading procedures, and without adding hundreds of tons and tens of millions of dollars to build costs is critical. The ability to retrofit existing vessels cheaply and efficiently is paramount.
The ability to build, repair and maintain systems remote from shipboard and eliminate downtime is an important asset; KiteShip has understood these advantages for decades. We have been readying appropriate technology for commercial tethered flight sailing since 1978.
In addition to mainline marine propulsion and sail assist, KiteShip is working on marine applications as diverse as towing oil rigs and other large marine structures, diverting icebergs from oil platforms in high latitudes, and in autonomous robot towing of relatively safe cargo such as bagged water, liquid fructose and the like.
KiteShip Firsts:
We flew the first water-launchable, inflated leading-edge kites in 1978.
We flew the largest sailing kites on the planet in 1978.
We flew the first lighter-than-air traction kites in 1982.
We patented the first bi-directional kiteboard in 1984.
We again built and flew the world’s largest sailing kite in 1997.
We invented the world’s first rule-legal free-flying spinnaker replacement kite for the world’s highest-level yacht racing classes in 2001.
We took the Guinness world record for the largest vessel ever pulled by a kite in 2002.
We took the Guinness world record for the largest kite to pull a vehicle in 2004.
Our current shipping products are an order of magnitude larger and more powerful than any on the planet; are several times as large as any, even in serious planning stages. Who should you believe and trust with your business, planners or doers?
KiteShip is working on more firsts in the commercial marine field. There are practical challenges to tethered flight as to any other solution, which KiteShip encountered and solved long ago.
Drop us a note if your firm requires a new look at attacking the 21st century’s thorniest on-water propulsion and cost issues. KiteShip is doing what other firms are only dreaming about.