The combined power and capacity constraints make solar a nonstarter.
Specialised, high-efficience, very light, all-electric boats have been built. They top out at about six knots, roughly 1/4 the speed of most shipping of the 1980s and 1990s (more recent ships have slowed somewhat to about 18-20 kt for efficiency, called slow steaming).
We had a technology for low-fuel shipping, it's called sails, and achieved net speeds of 12-20 kt with cargoes. Commercial sail vessels actually operated through the 1940s, in rare cases, as fuel costs and limitations were still concerns. These ships could and did out-pace coal-fired boats.
They are, however, dwarfed by modern monsters such as the Emma.
Thank you for the Wikipedia ride, now I'm kind of waiting for Larry Ellison to enter grain shipping with ocean skimming carbon composite monstrosities ;)
(Or at least for a Neil Stephenson novel about that happening)
The combined power and capacity constraints make solar a nonstarter.
Specialised, high-efficience, very light, all-electric boats have been built. They top out at about six knots, roughly 1/4 the speed of most shipping of the 1980s and 1990s (more recent ships have slowed somewhat to about 18-20 kt for efficiency, called slow steaming).
We had a technology for low-fuel shipping, it's called sails, and achieved net speeds of 12-20 kt with cargoes. Commercial sail vessels actually operated through the 1940s, in rare cases, as fuel costs and limitations were still concerns. These ships could and did out-pace coal-fired boats.
They are, however, dwarfed by modern monsters such as the Emma.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustaf_Erikson
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windjammer