Word: maru
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Japanese tanker Shin Aitoku Maru looks like any other ship as it plies the Sea of Japan with a cargo of more than 11,000 bbl. of crude oil. But when the breeze comes up, a microcomputer unfurls a pair of rectangular canvas sails and aligns them to the wind. Stretched tight by rigid metal frames, the 40-ft. by 26-ft. sails resemble windmill paddles more than the billowing canvases of a windjammer. Yet the sails enable this 20th century clipper to move at speeds of up to twelve knots under wind power...
...launched in August and is now undergoing sea trials. Other sailing cargo ships are also being designed or built in Great Britain, Belgium and California. The new move down to the seas in sailing ships has been stimulated by the high cost of oil. Although the Shin Aitoku Maru cost its backers, Shipbuilder Nippon Kokan (N.K.K.) and the Japan Marine Machinery Development Association, some 15% more to construct than a conventional tanker, it will use 50% less fuel than a regular cargo ship...
This sense of duty is not readily understood by foreigners. Last week Takuya Sakai, 53, captain of the Fuji Maru, a ship carrying Subaru cars to the U.S., discovered upon docking at Los Angeles harbor for refueling that more than 200 of the autos were damaged by water leaks in the cargo hold. Considering himself responsible for the accident, Sakai attempted to commit harakiri. When that failed, he slit his throat...