Fittingly, this groundbreaking unit will be used on a daily basis by the European Space Agency - Business Insider website informed.
The vessel is the world's first modern hybrid industrial ship where diesel propulsion is supported by the wind. Canopée is equipped with four modern Oceanwing sails, each 37 metre tall, with a total sail area of 1,5 thousand square metres. Additionally, as the website geekweek.interia.pl emphasised, the ability to set the angle of inclination and rotate the sails 360 degrees makes them more efficient than the conventional ones.
Canopée is a ROROship - a type of vessel adapted to transport rolling cargo and vehicles. Its exclusive owner is the European Space Agency, and its purpose will be to carry components of the Ariane 6 rocket to French Guiana. In total, it will make 11 round trips from Europe to South America each year.
Due to its purpose, the ship built in Szczecin's "Neptune" shipyard had to meet a number of requirements. Thanks to innovative solutions, it was possible to create a unique unit with an unusual hull - providing a large deck area, but also high speed. As the shipyard said in a statement, the use of additional sails reduced fuel consumption by an average of 30%.
All of this sums up to the fact that Canopée is referred to as "the most advanced wind-powered transport ship in history".
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Source: Business Insider, GeekWeek