Wind powered cargo ships?

My neighbor and I had a brief conversation a while back about peak oil and some of its ramifications. I said, half jokingly, that at least companies that import cheap ass goods from overseas might not stay viable as they depend on fuel to move their products. Companies like Walmart, for example.

He said that he'd heard about the possibility of wind-powered cargo ships. That made a lot of sense, considering that's how trade has been conducted for hundreds (even thousands?) of years before petrol took over the sea lanes.

He did some research and came up with this video of The Maltese Falcon. This thing definitely isn't the result of someone trying to greenify international shipping. It is a 130-million-dollar vanity object. There are many funny things about the video, the interview, and the circumstance. See if you can find them all.



I'll close with commentary by my neighbor Astock:

1. It can fit under the golden gate bridge by about 30 or 40 feet. I guess that means it pretty much can’t get into any other less-major (than SF) bay in the world? That sounds prohibitive

2. That brings me to point #2. The guy that built it can’t land it in the U.S. due to “tax implications”. That’s totally fucking hilarious.

Enjoy the concept of freight from china getting here even cheaper when they don’t have to pay for fuel, darnit

Bp