Coastal Airports as Future Maritime Transport Terminals

While maritime vessels typically float on water, there are exceptions such as hovercraft and wing-in-ground effect vessels (WIG craft) that float above the water surface. 

Large seabirds and several species of waterfowl can glide for extended distances above water, and their wing profile during gliding served as the template behind the development of WIG craft. At present, there are builders located in South Korea (Wing Ship Technology), Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. 

While aircraft flight depends on a vacuum effect occurring and being sustained on the top surface of the wing, WIG craft flight is very different. When gliding above water, the wing profile of seabirds and waterfowl scoops air and generates a downdraft along the outer edges of the wing tips. A percentage of that downdraft flows inward and develops into an updraft near the WIG craft mid-section. That updraft carries most of the weight of seabirds and WIG-craft. 

The IMO classifies WIG craft as a maritime vessel, and they can typically fly at an elevation of 10 percent to 20 percent of the wingspan distance.

Climbing High

Wing Ship of South Korea has recently developed a ground-effect wing that can carry a WIG craft to an elevation of 90 percent of wingspan, meaning that a craft built with a wingspan of 120 feet (36 meters), could climb to an elevation of 108 feet (33 meters) above sea level and above small and medium size maritime vessels. 

A WIG craft of 200 feet or 61 meters wingspan could cruise at an elevation of 20 to 40 feet (six to 12 meters) above ocean while consuming a third of the fuel of an equivalent size commercial airliner. When needed, it could climb to an elevation of 180 feet (55 meters) above ocean.

During testing on the Caspian Sea, the Russian built Ekranoplan could fly at an elevation of 30 feet (10 meters) above water. However, pilots discovered that wingtips struck the water surface during severe turns. 

The development from South Korea allows pilots to climb future WIG craft to higher elevation before making a severe turn. However, prolonged operation at high elevation would also increase fuel consumption. Pilots would climb the craft to high elevation when encountering a ship or when approaching a runway at a coastal airport and also operate the craft at high elevation after take-off from such an airport.

WIG craft are maritime vessels that would be built to maritime structural standards. The design would include pontoons, water skis and possibly hydrofoils to allow for touch down on and lift-off from a water surface. 

WIG craft intended to operate between coastal airports would include (retractable) landing gear for operation on airport runways. Pilot training would include instruction in the operation of maritime vessels as well as aircraft operational procedures such as landing and take-off at commercial coastal airports. 

Fast Freight Market Niche

There is an available market niche for fast freight service that would offer faster delivery than a container ship and at a fraction of the price of commercial airfreight, where fuel cost is a very dominant factor. A WIG craft carrying freight could operate between networks of coastal airports spread across the Asia-Pacific region. 

Such airports include Sydney (Australia), Auckland and Wellington (New Zealand), Hong Kong, Macau, Inchon (near Seoul), Chubu (near Nagoya), Kanzai (near Osaka), Goa (India) and Qatar. 

WIG-craft would have to climb high to cross over coastal roads at Singapore, Los Angeles (U.S.) and Georgetown (Penang) airports.

There are networks of coastal airports across the Mediterranean Sea at Barcelona, Gibraltar, Nice (France), Corsica (France), Palermo (Sicily), Genoa and Rome (Italy), Thessalonica and Iraklion (Greece) as well as at Beirut and Tel Aviv. 

Atlantic coastal airports include Le Havre (France), Tangier (Morocco), Boston (USA), Bermuda, Jamaica (Kingston and Montego Bay), Dutch West Indies, Tobago, Santa Domingo (Dominican Republic) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). WIG Craft would have to cross over coastal roads at Caracas (Venezuela) and Cartagena (Bolivia). 

Around the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas, WIG-craft could carry fast freight on longer routes and passengers on shorter routes. 

Revenue Routes

Premium domestic passenger service routes would include Auckland – Wellington (New Zealand), Rome – Palermo (Italy), Nice – Corsica (France) and Kingston – Montego Bay (Jamaica), also Iraklion – Thessalonica (Greece). 

While Wing Ship Technology of South Korea offers a 50-seat model capable of 125 miles/hour (200 kilometers/hour), faster speeds may attract more passengers along regional routes such as Barcelona – Rome, Singapore – Georgetown, also Boston – Bermuda. 

While a container ship may take 50 to 65 hours between Wellington (New Zealand) and Sydney (Australia), a Wing-Ship may be capable of undertaking the journey within 11 hours and commercial airfreight 2.5 hours. 

Hong Kong may serve as a hub for several Asian fast freight routes that include links to Singapore, Inchon, Kanzai, Sydney, Wellington and Los Angeles. Los Angeles may serve as a hub for trans-Pacific WIG craft routes with links to Sydney, Wellington, Hong Kong, Macau, Inchon, Kanzai and Singapore. 

Other potentially viable routes may include Qatar – Goa (India), Sydney – Singapore, Singapore – Goa/Qatar, also Georgetown – Goa/Qatar and possibly Sydney/Wellington – Goa/Qatar. Potentially viable trans-Atlantic WIG craft carrying fast freight services may include Boston – Le Havre, Boston – Rome, Caracas – Barcelona 

Conclusions 

WIG craft that operate between coastal airports would connect into an existing infrastructure that includes commercial freight services and passenger services. The ability of the craft to climb to higher elevation improves safety and versatility when approaching coastal airports or when encountering ships of almost 120 feet (40 meters) vertical height measured from the keel under-surface, with 42 feet (14 meters) below the water line. 

Perhaps the future market niche for WIG craft would depend on the combination of being able to climb high and serve coastal airports. - MarEx