A fleet of 15 merchant sailing vessels
Oleg Burlakov, the owner of the luxury sailboat Black Pearl, wants to apply the technological prowess of his boat to commercial ships. He announced the launch of a project to build a fleet of about 15 sail-powered merchant ships. The first units envisaged would be ro-ro vessels, providing car transport, with the aim of providing an environmental response to trans-oceanic car transport.
An application of the know-how of the yachting industry
The Russian billionaire's project could make it possible to transpose into the Merchant Navy the know-how of the world of luxury yachting, acquired during the construction of his superyacht. Built by the Dutch shipyard Oceanco, the superyacht is 107 metres long and 15 metres wide. It has 3 masts supporting 2900 m² of sail area using the DynaRig rig, made famous by the Maltese Falcon sailboat. This technology of self-supporting masts and square sails that can be rolled up allows the use of large areas of canvas in a reduced crew, while limiting the influence on the deck, an advantage both for pleasure craft and professional vessels.
Also invited during the presentation of the project, Solar Cloth System should participate in the adventure by integrating its flexible solar panels on board ships.
Such projects offer good prospects for diversification for boating companies involved in the ecological transition.
