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Future Ships Could Float On Bubbles
MattSparkes writes, "Creating a layer of bubbles underneath a ship's hull could improve fuel efficiency by 20%. When you consider that 90% of the world's goods are transported by sea, the importance of this discovery is obvious. 'Conjured up from thin air at the flick of a switch, this slippery blanket will help transport a fully laden tanker or container ship across the ocean at higher speed, and using far less fuel, than ever before... There is currently no other technique in naval architecture that can promise such savings.'" The article looks in some detail at the engineering problems that will need to be overcome before this technique is practical.
I think if this idea works it could definitely speed up goods transport around the world without needing more fuel for the higher speeds.
It could have two benefits: 1) the ship could dramatically reduce its fuel consumption by travelling at current speeds or 2) travel way faster but keep current fuel consumption rates. Remember, most large cargo ships (container ships, tankers, other bulk cargo carriers) usually travel at about 8-15 knots at sea; imagine travelling at 16-30 knots at sea with a full cargo load, which could reduce the transpacific crossing time from Japan to the US West Coast by way over a day.