Shipping is the source of some 3% of carbon emissions, and the most common fossil fuel is bunker oil - a low grade but cheap fuel that is the source of other particulate and noxious air pollution. It's been long romanticised as a golden age - the Age of Sail. But the amount of commerce on container ships dwarfs shipping from those times.

The Oceanbird design represents a significant breakthrough in the maritime industry's quest for sustainable shipping. The three-year Swedish R&D collaboration brought together some of the brightest minds in maritime technology to solve one of the industry's most significant challenges.

The first Oceanbird vessels are expected to achieve a significant reduction in emissions, despite challenges that include inflexible arrival times at ports and the environmental impact of longer crossings at a slower speed on the size of the global fleet. Nevertheless, the Oceanbird concept provides a solid foundation upon which to build a sustainable future for the maritime industry.



Oceanbird is pursuing two paths to revolutionize shipping: reducing emissions significantly on a few vessels and even more on a larger scale. The first step involves demonstrating the Oceanbird's effectiveness on a few vessels, showcasing its ability to achieve significant emissions reductions while maintaining commercial viability. The second step is to scale up the Oceanbird concept to the entire maritime industry, enabling a wider range of vessels to operate in a more sustainable manner.z

It's a fascinating concept, and in an age where foiling yachts are capturing sporting headlines, it makes a lot of sense to look again at how wind can power global container commerce in a new age of sail.