This isn’t the first maritime project to awkwardly mash up the past in the future. In 2017, a Chinese shipyard announced that it had built an electric cargo ship—to transport coal.
Regardless of the cargo, shipping is a major source of carbon emissions. A 2009 report found that one oceangoing cargo ship polluted the air as much as 50 million cars.
Most efforts to reduce carbon emissions on the high seas have focused on smaller vessels, mostly carrying passengers instead of cargo, however.
A handful of electric ferries are in service, and a cruise line unveiled a 500-passenger hybrid cruise ship in 2019. Studies have shown that the largest cruise ships can be major polluters. If the day can come when they go fully electric, that might mean fewer trips for oil tankers—even electric ones.
SOURCE: GREEN CAR REPORTS