Transport depends on crude oil as a source of fuel for trucks, trains and ships and bitumen for roads. Europe has shown that even with a strong commitment to emission reduction, transport Green House Gas emissions will continue to rise relative to other sectors. As Australia’s freight task increases and as fuel supply risks increase, the need for change is also increasing. Investment will be required in transport fleet expansion and replacement, meaning that now is an opportune time to review our transport paradigm. Sea transport is no different to road, rail and air in its ability to leverage improvements in engine efficiency, materials, logistics management, control systems, renewable fuels, hybrid, solar and energy storage technologies. However, sea transport has two unique advantages over other transport modes: a low cost of infrastructure and the capability of harnessing wind by direct conversion of kinetic energy. The development of highefficiency vessels and market drivers are close to a tipping point for rapid evolution. A possible step in this evolution is the development and application of high-efficiency vessel technologies to improve the sustainability of remote communities and the tourism industry. This would have strong synergies with the Australian high-speed shipbuilding industry’s world market leadership.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	High-efficiency vessels; marine propulsion; sail; crude oil dependence; transport; sustainability
Research Division:	Engineering
Research Group:	Maritime Engineering
Research Field:	Marine Engineering
Objective Division:	Transport
Objective Group:	Water Transport
Objective Field:	Coastal Sea Freight Transport
Author:	Symington, WP (Mr William Symington)
Author:	Binns, JR (Associate Professor Jonathan Binns)
ID Code:	104916
Year Published:	2015
Deposited By:	NC Maritime Engineering and Hydrodynamics
Deposited On:	2015-11-25
Last Modified:	2017-10-25
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