Since shipping contributes about 2-3% of total CO2 emissions, the industry is looking for a better way forward. Like a kite from the bow.
This slightly tedious video describes a kite that deploys from the foc'sle and pulls the ship forward.
1:10 the kite is steered in a figure 8 pattern to increase its airspeed which increases the towing force.
It can help propel the ship forward if the wind is generally from behind the ship - at 2:16 I think he means to say "120 to 240 degrees" [from the wind direction,] so it can be deployed through 120 degrees of wind direction relative to course. If shipping lanes tend to follow favorable trade winds, I'm guessing that a majority of the time the kite could help propulsion.
I think the idea hasn't taken off because it requires 10-20 minutes to deploy and to stow it, and it would be easy to get the lines tangled, or rip the kite when stowing it in windy conditions. It probably wouldn't stow well when wet. And it seems to take a fair bit of attention to make sure it's flying properly.
My question is why they don't appear to have used the force on the tow line to generate electricity as the kite is sent aloft. This is, after all, the same company that markets land-based kite systems for power generation.
Also, here's an interesting boat that is powered by solar cells and a kite.
And here's a million dollar yacht that can cruise at 8 knots on solar alone.
And here's a massive cargo ship with rigid sails that can be retracted to navigate under bridges coming in to port.
Starts at 3:24 in this video.
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