LR Joins Project Aiming to Build the World's Biggest Sailing Cargo Ship

The Quadriga sustainable shipping project looks to build a 170-meter car carrier, capable of carrying between 1,700 and 2,000 cars. Image Credit: LR

LR has announced it has joined an initiative from Hamburg-based Sailing Cargo which aims to build the world’s biggest sailing cargo ship.

LR says it will help to ensure compliance of the project and also verify whether the predicted performance parameters have been achieved.

The Quadriga sustainable shipping project looks to build a 170-meter car carrier, capable of carrying between 1,700 and 2,000 cars.

The vessel is envisaged to be equipped with four DynaRig masts that will operate on hybrid propulsion with sails and diesel-electric engines, as well as an optional battery system for peak loads.

"Wind-assisted propulsion offers a realistic option for introducing renewable power into shipping. LR’s Low Carbon Pathways 2050 study found that low carbon ships will need to enter the fleet by 2030 in order for shipping to reduce its emissions in line with the Paris Agreement and this means significant changes in the industry are required," says LR.

"The big question is whether the technology will be available on the scale needed to achieve the level of reduction required. The consensus is that engineering advances alone and the associated efficiency gains will simply not be enough to achieve this. Fuels will have to change and the Quadriga project provides one of the potential viable alternative solutions."

LR’s Nico Dettmann, Marketing and Sales Manager for Central and Eastern Europe, Marine & Offshore, said: "It's a very exciting initiative to be involved in. It's always motivating for us to be involved from the concept stage of any project, especially those that involve innovative technology and new ways of doing things. We have a long history of working with and supporting our clients to bring their new and novel concepts, safely and robustly from inception to operational reality."