The return of trading under sail

Sail power is making a comeback as the shipping industry reduces costs and carbon emissions, Rupert Holmes reports

- Rupert Holmes

One hundred years ago, before affordable internal combustion engines and improved road networks rendered them obsolete in the 1920s, sailing barges filled the Pool of London, transporting goods with minimal noise pollution and no carbon emissions other than those of a solid fuel stove in winter.

Above London Bridge goods were moved using engineless lighters, propelled with nothing more than giant oars and favourable currents. These techniques are kept alive today thanks to the annual Thames Barge Driving Race. Teams of three to six people propel 30-tonne 20-25m (66-80ft) barges using only oars, plus a sweep for steering, on a seven-mile course from Greenwich to Westminster Bridge. If you’re in London on the day of the match, standing on a bridge gives a grandstand view and is highly recommended.

Many boat owners yearn for the days when cargoes were shipped around the globe – and around the shores of the UK – by sail, but a return to shipping under sail, borne of economic and environmental necessity, could be just around the corner. Anticipated carbon taxes and caps look set to make adding a high-tech wing rig, Flettner rotor or some other new technology to a bulk carrier or ro-ro vessel a sensible, money-saving idea.

Sail cargo today is dominated by companies driven not only by their financial bottom line, but also by the ethics of ultra-low carbon shipping, and where high-tech sailing is conspicuous by its absence. Netherlands-based Fairtransport, which has operated for more than a decade, runs its own engineless ships, including the 28m (92ft) LOD brigantine