The World in 2030

124 The World in 2030
By using the SkySails-System, a ship‘s fuel costs can
be reduced by 10- 35 per cent on annual average,
depending on wind conditions. Under optimal wind
conditions, fuel consumption can temporarily be
reduced by up to 50 per cent. Even on a small, 87
metre cargo ship, savings of up to 280,000 euros can
be made annually.
In 2007 the first SkySails-Systems with towing-kite
areas of up to 320 m² for cargo vessels, superyachts
and fish trawlers will be available. Series production
will start in 2008. 245
And finally, to end this very incomplete survey of shipping
emissions, don’t even consider thinking about using
passenger liners for travel, or even of taking a luxury cruise.
In his influential 2006 book ‘Heat, How To Stop The
Planet Burning,’ British environmental campaigner George
Monbiot publishes his calculation about how much carbon
is produced by the cruise liner Queen Elizabeth 2 on behalf
of each of its passengers.
Cunard says the ship burns 433 tonnes of fuel a day,
and takes six days to travel from Southampton to
New York. If the ship is full, every passenger with a
return ticket consumes 2.9 tonnes. A tonne of shipping
fuel contains 0.85 tonnes of carbon, which produces
3.1 tonnes of carbon dioxide when it is burnt.
Every passenger is responsible for 9.1 tonnes of emissions.
Travelling to New York and back on the QE2,
in other words, uses almost 7.6 times as much carbon
as making the same journey by plane. 246