As heavy industries take action to reduce their carbon footprint, many companies are exploring innovative methods to continue operations as normally as possible while reducing their reliance on fossil fuels. But I never thought that sails could be making a return to . It seems even more ridiculous that sails would be used to However, the newest Chinese diesel supertanker is aiming to destroy the established conventions to bring wind-powered sailing back into vogue.

, built by the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company, was recently delivered to China Merchants Energy Shipping. The new 1092-foot-long supertanker capable of carrying two million barrels of oil sports a strikingly unique feature, four carbon fiber wingsails. Each wingsail is 131 feet tall, giving the tanker a total sail area of 12,900 square feet. The sails will be operated by an automated system called Aerofoil Sails Intelligent Control. The system reacts to real-time data, such as wind speed and ship heading, to optimize the angle of the sails.

However, the wingsails are only a supplemental source of propulsion. The China Classification Society estimates that the sail will reduce diesel fuel consumption by at least 9.8 percent, translating to a CO2 emissions reduction of almost 3,200 tons over a route between the Middle East and East Asia. While the dent in emission is just a drop in a bucket, this concept will hopefully prove to be impactful in real-world applications and encourage widespread adoption. Then again, it is hypocritically an attempt to develop a more environmentally friendly method of transporting fossil fuels.