4 ms·
Sailboats are complicated. Who's going to fund the development of an autonomous one of the above size? I can buy this ship for ~4M USD https://www.oceanmarine.
by hchz 6y ago
Sailboats are complicated. Who's going to fund the development of an autonomous one of the above size?
I can buy this ship for ~4M USD https://www.oceanmarine.com/detail.cfm?5280%2DDWT%2DRORO%2CGEN%2DCARGO%2D%2D%2D13631&product_id=13631&category_current=9&category_current_sub=57 https://www.oceanmarine.com/detail.cfm?5280%2DDWT%2DRORO%2CG...
Then transport 5,000 tons from Newark to London in ten days with <10,000 USD of bunker fuel.
Bunker fuel is very very cheap. I don't see how you can compete on either the fixed or variable costs with conventional shipping in the current regulatory regime.
An added issue with a flotilla approach is the decreased ability to handle sea state, which impacts the costs for insurance/LOC for shippers, as well as the useful coverage with respect to routes and seasonality.
- walrus01 6y agoBuilt 1991, it's nearing the end of its useful lifespan in salt water conditions. Maintenance and repairs will get very costly, very soon. There's a reason you don't see 35+ year old cargo ships operating in widespread commercial service... Some time in the next 5-7 years that ship is almost certainly going to end up operating in an increasingly decrepit condition in the coastal trade in a location with lax regulations, or cut up for scrap on a beach in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh.
- hchz 6y agoThat's fine, I can buy one every year for less than the cost of 100 clippers.