[jmoorebeek]

From our early investigations, many cargo ships already maintain sufficient moveable ballast (ie: water tanks) in order to handle dock operations, that they can also handle the roll moment from the sails. Maintenance is on our mind too. The possibility with a containerized solution is as easy as "ship it back to the manufacturer by putting a shipping label on it" for maintenance, and we can make sure to have spares dockside for our customers while their main device is being serviced.

[remkop22]

Using ballast in port operations is significantly different then using ballast while sailing especially for offsetting a non static moment.

Container vessels are designed to sail at a very specific draught. The bulbous bows on most container vessels are fine tuned hydrodynamic shapes that impact ths wave patterns that ships generate. Sailing at a different draught because you're adding ballast will greatly decrease fuel efficiency. Additionally any added draught also increases the amount of water you have to displace, so again decreasing fuel efficiency.

Further more, I highly doubt regulations would permiss this. I'd have to dive in IMO statues to verify, but imagine because of any event the rolling moment from the sails decreases in a short amount of time. Now the vessel has the same instability that you initially tried to offset, just caused by your own ballast.

I'd be interested to hear what your thoughts are on these issues. Non the less, very interesting ideas