Auriga Leader – World’s First Green Ship

Green cars are not the only focus of pro-environmental transport projects in the world; the shipping industry is now part of the green movement and the latest achievement comes from none else than the techno-savvy Japanese. Last week, Japan’s freighter Auriga Leader was launched into the sea as the world’s first green ship, partly propelled by solar energy. The news is an eye-catcher in the world of environmental-friendly transport.

Developed by the most renowned Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen, Auriga Leader is a colossal cargo ship, 200 meters long and weighing 60 213 tons, with a carriage capacity of about 6400 cars. The propulsion system of the ship is powered by 328 solar panels that can produce 40 kilowatts of power – about 0.2 percent of the propulsion energy consumed by the ship. However, the manufacturers mean to raise this share of solar power in future. For the time being, Auriga Leader has appeared on the scene of environmental-friendly shipping as the first large ship in which the use of solar power is not limited to lighting or minor functions in the crew’s quarters.

The project leading to Auriga Leader was conceived by Nippon Yusen before the global financial recession that has lately resulted in a drastically decreased production of the auto industry. The solar cargo ship will start with transporting vehicles, produced by the leading Japanese automaker Toyota, to other countries. The primary goal of launching a solar cargo ship is to cut fuel expenses as well as check carbon-based emissions – two important environment-friendly qualities that top the list of requirements for green transport.

At the moment, transport via sea ships contributes an estimated 1.4% to 4.5% of the total greenhouse gases emitted by different sources. Most alarming of these are the carbon-based gases, particularly carbon dioxide, which are responsible for most of the global greenhouse effect (global warming). For this reason, the shipping industry is also under increased pressure from eco-conscious organizations and environmental bodies to curb its share of greenhouse gas emissions. By introducing Auriga Leader, Nippon Yusen has made a landmark achievement in establishing green maritime shipping while also contributing to Japan’s potential independence from foreign oil – a success that peaks for itself.

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3 Responses to “Auriga Leader – World’s First Green Ship”

1. Ships says:

   July 21, 2009 at 3:28 am

   Absolutely great innovation in ship-building. I hope that this innovation will be only the first step in using the solar energy in shipbuilding.
2. John says:

   August 22, 2009 at 9:53 pm

   This is probably not for propulsion so much as for electrical power when in port. Things like diesel power generators on board ships, and trains and trucks transporting cargo to/from the ships, cause big pollution problems in and around ports. With major ports such as Los Angeles charging ever-higher fees for supplying electricity and hefty fines for excess emissions from on-board diesel generators I can see why shipbuilders are responding with equipment like this. If the ship can produce it’s own emission-less power while in port then the ship owners can probably avoid paying a lot of money to the port while loading and unloading.
3. JohnS says:

   September 14, 2009 at 8:10 am

   I’m don’t know how you can describe this as the ‘World’s First Green Ship’ when for thousands of years ships have sailed round the world powered only by the wind.

   It’s a smallish car transporter that has enough PV panels bolted to its upper deck to generate just 0.2% of its energy from the sun. That isn’t even enough to cover the auxilliary loads such as the electricity for lighting and other purposes; in fact it’s only about 7% of this load, when the suns out.