Stefan MolyneuxVerified account

Ships are the most fuel efficient transport there is. So fuel cost isn’t the thing to worry about.

Ships are actually enormously fuel inefficient if they run on diesel. Trains are the most efficient freight. A ship is diaplacing thousands of tons of water. Trains move on a low friction rail through air.

Very few trains traverse the sealaines thou...

Hehe. To be fair, ships were 100% efficient when they were wind powered. We should probably convert the sea freighters over to nuclear. Diesel is so wasteful.

Now you are talking, the technology has been used by the military for a long time already. I also remember an article I read many years ago if the possibility to put sails on ships again to save on fuel when possible. They looked very futuristic, like the wings of an aircraft.

Rigid sails work well on them. Giant aluminum panels attached on arms that extend away from the hull of the ship. But those are problematic for freighters because of panamax issues -- passing through the panama canal or other canals won't happen if you triple your width.