A cargo vessel featuring colossal, British-constructed particular wind-propelled sails has commenced its introductory journey.
Cargill, a shipping company that leased the vessel, hopes the technology can enable the industry to move towards a more environmentally friendly future.
By employing the large, hard WindWings sails, it is hoped that fuel use will be reduced, resulting in decreased carbon emissions from maritime operations.
It is estimated that the industry accounts for around 2.1% of total CO2 emissions worldwide.
The inaugural voyage of the Pyxis Ocean from China to Brazil will be the first practical demonstration of wind-wing technology.
When in a harbour, they are collapsed, yet when out at sea, they are extended. Their overall height is 123ft (37.5m) and are made of a strong material similar to that which is utilized in wind turbines to ensure they are sturdy.
Using the wind to propel a vessel instead of just its engine could potentially cut its lifetime emissions by around 30%.
Jan Dieleman, president of Cargill Ocean transportation, commented that the sector was in the middle of a "journey to decarbonise". He accepted that there was no easy solution - nonetheless, he remarked that the technology showed how quickly developments were taking place.
He commented to the BBC that if you had asked people in the shipping industry about decarbonizing five or six years ago, they would have thought it would be very hard to do and not expect it to take place anytime soon.
In five years' time, the story has entirely changed, and now everyone is fully aware that they have to contribute. The challenge now is determining how to do so.
That is why we have assumed a bigger role in assuming some of the risk and pioneering efforts to progress the industry.
It is predicted that the Pyxis Ocean will take around six weeks to reach its destination, yet its technology draws from sources that far exceed that timeframe.
UK firm BAR Technologies, a spin-off from Sir Ben Ainslie's 2017 America's Cup team, created the system. The America's Cup has been referred to as the 'Formula One of the seas'.
John Cooper, the head of what is undoubtedly one of the slowest-moving projects to date, but with the most significant impact on the planet, gave an interview to the BBC. Cooper formerly worked for the Formula One team, McLaren.
He believes this voyage will be a game-changer for the maritime industry.
He predicted that, by 2025, half of the newly constructed ships will be equipped with wind propulsion.
I'm sure of the outcome as we're able to save around 1.5 tonnes of fuel every day. For ships that are equipped with four wings, this adds up to a total of 6 tonnes of saved fuel and consequently a reduction of 20 tonnes of CO2 emissions daily. It's quite an impressive figure.
Mr Cooper declares that, despite the innovation originating from the UK, the wings are made in China since governmental backing for cutting the price of imported steel is insufficient for manufacturing them domestically.
He expressed disappointment to the BBC, wishing he could construct in the United Kingdom.
Experts suggest that exploring wind power can be beneficial to the shipping industry as it attempts to lessen the 837 million tonnes of CO2 it produces each year.
In July, it consented to lower greenhouse gases to a net-zero by the middle of the century or thereabouts - a promise that those against it deemed to be ineffectual.
Dr Simon Bullock, shipping researcher at the University of Manchester's Tyndall Centre, emphasizes that wind power has a significant effect.
He declared that the emergence of cleaner fuels will require a while, so we need to use every measure possible on vessels already existing, such as retrofitting them with sails, kites and rotors.
Ultimately, it is essential that we achieve zero-carbon fuels on all ships, however, in the interim, it is essential to make every trip as economical as possible. Decreased velocities are also a key part of the answer, he told the BBC.
Stephen Gordon, the managing director of the maritime data firm Clarksons Research, declared that wind-related technologies were "experiencing a degree of progress".
He stated that the number of vessels utilizing this technology had doubled in the preceding year.
Despite having a relatively low number, there are still roughly 100 vessels equipped with wind-assisted technology across the entire international shipping fleet and new-build order book of over 110,000 vessels.
Despite a possible sharp rise in usage, wind-powered technology may not be applicable to all vessels, e.g. where sail deployment would disrupt the unloading of freight containers.
Mr Gordon predicted that the shipping industry has not mapped out a definite pathway for decarbonisation yet. He noted that, given the breadth of the challenge and vastness of the global shipping fleet, a unified solution is unlikely to appear in the near or intermediate future.
John Cooper of BAR Technologies has an optimistic outlook for wind wings, expressing that the future looks "very rosy."
He expresses contentment in the prospect of the sector reverting to its roots.
He remarked that the engineers were not keen on it, but he invariably declared it was like going back in time.
The advent of large-scale internal combustion engines dismantled the commercial and shipping lines and now we're attempting to turn that around, at least to some degree.
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