Taking another step backwards with the return of sailing ships?

 Bloomberg:

Add ships being dragged along by giant kites to the list of things the industry is exploring in its quest to decarbonize.

At the start of next year, the Ville de Bordeaux, a 154-meter-long ship that moves aircraft components for Airbus SE, will unfurl a 500 square meter kite on journeys across the Atlantic Ocean. It will undergo six months of trials and tests before full deployment.

While the industry has come up with multiple decarbonization initiatives, it is struggling to keep pace with goals set out under the Paris Agreement on climate. There’s also pressure on shipping lines from large customers who are pressing to make their own supply chains less polluting.

...

Sailing ships require more manpower than modern ships and they are more vulnerable to trade winds.  The description of the "kites" sounds more like a spinnaker used on racing sailboats which are mainly used on downwind runs.  Going into the wind requires frequent tacking back and forth to make headway.  The large cargo ships would not be capable of that.

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