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It's probably more practical to build modern sailing ships than to try to electrify bulk overseas cargo shipping Back in the heyday of the battleship, replacin

It's probably more practical to build modern sailing ships than to try to electrify bulk overseas cargo shipping Back in the heyday of the battleship, replacing the engine was one of the things it wasn't worth doing. It's so hard to do, you might as well just build a new ship. I have no idea if this is still true, or not. Construction techniques have come a long way. Today, there are cruise liners that have all of their propellers in multiple swiveling pods containing electric motors. (They generally have generators run by diesel or steam turbine.)

adammunich 7y ago
It is absolutely still true, most ship engines are not removable without breaking the hull above the engine. If you're going to do that, it's often easier to start fresh.
- stcredzero 7y ago
  It is absolutely still true, most ship engines are not removable without breaking the hull above the engine. Seems to me, especially with electric engine pods, ships can be designed to allow the replacement of the engine/generator.
  - vkou 7y ago
    They can be, but the ones that are currently afloat haven't been. Shipping companies have had decades of success fighting against legally-mandated retrofits - double-hulled tankers, trivial safety features for passenger ferries... I don't think your idea of replaceable engines is going to get any traction.
- dsfyu404ed 7y ago
  Totally depends on the industry niche. As always the low margin guys will repair/modify and the high margin guys will buy new hardware.
fooblitzky 7y ago
The lifetime of a modern ship is only 25-30 years. I think when the parent comment mentioned electrifying bulk cargo shipping,they were referring to building new electric ships, not converting existing ones.
WalterBright 7y ago
Re-engining a jetliner often means designing a whole new airplane, too.
Shivetya 7y ago
Oh I don't know, Japan did it a few times with the Fuso and her sisters. Even the Italians did it with a line of battleships. The debate back in the 30s was if diesel could take the place of steam turbines but they ended up weight prohibitive and some maintenance would be similar to the work required to just swap engine types
i_am_proteus 7y ago
The depends on what you mean by "engine." Big diesels are relatively new in the maritime world. On a steam ship, which had a much less monolithic power plant, replacing an engine or a boiler was feasible. Replacing reduction gears usually was not.

adammunich 7y ago

It is absolutely still true, most ship engines are not removable without breaking the hull above the engine. If you're going to do that, it's often easier to start fresh.

stcredzero 7y ago
It is absolutely still true, most ship engines are not removable without breaking the hull above the engine. Seems to me, especially with electric engine pods, ships can be designed to allow the replacement of the engine/generator.
- vkou 7y ago
  They can be, but the ones that are currently afloat haven't been. Shipping companies have had decades of success fighting against legally-mandated retrofits - double-hulled tankers, trivial safety features for passenger ferries... I don't think your idea of replaceable engines is going to get any traction.
dsfyu404ed 7y ago
Totally depends on the industry niche. As always the low margin guys will repair/modify and the high margin guys will buy new hardware.

fooblitzky 7y ago

The lifetime of a modern ship is only 25-30 years. I think when the parent comment mentioned electrifying bulk cargo shipping,they were referring to building new electric ships, not converting existing ones.

WalterBright 7y ago

Re-engining a jetliner often means designing a whole new airplane, too.

Shivetya 7y ago

Oh I don't know, Japan did it a few times with the Fuso and her sisters. Even the Italians did it with a line of battleships. The debate back in the 30s was if diesel could take the place of steam turbines but they ended up weight prohibitive and some maintenance would be similar to the work required to just swap engine types

i_am_proteus 7y ago

The depends on what you mean by "engine." Big diesels are relatively new in the maritime world. On a steam ship, which had a much less monolithic power plant, replacing an engine or a boiler was feasible. Replacing reduction gears usually was not.