Local News

A joint venture among Saikai City (Nagasaki)-based Oshima Shipbuilding, the University of Tokyo and Tokyo-based Mitsui O.S.K. Lines will begin testing a next-generation commercial sailing ship, the UT Wind Challenger, this month off the coast of Sasebo. By relying primarily on wind and only using its engines when winds are weak, the new ship is designed to use half as much fuel as a conventional ocean liner and emit up to half as much CO2. The ship will have four carbon-reinforced plastic sails measuring 50m tall, 20m wide and 4m thick. Anticipated wind direction will be calculated in advance using a computer and sail angles will be automatically adjusted for maximum propulsion. After running tests with a half-size prototype completed last December, the joint venture hopes to have a commercially viable full-scale ship ready by 2016. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun 1/5

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