Scale: 1:65. A model of the revolutionary Japanese sail-assisted tanker, ‘Shin Aitoku Maru’ (1980), built for use in the Far East. The vessel looks like any other plying the Sea of Japan. But in a favourable breeze, an onboard computer unfurls a pair of rectangular canvas sails and sets them to the wind enabling the engine to close down and the ship to operate at speeds of up to 12 knots under wind power alone. ‘Shin Aitoku Maru’ is almost the same size as the ‘Cutty Sark’ but in contrast to the latter’s 2400 square metres of sail, the tanker carries just 200 square metres of canvas stretched taut by rigid metal frames that more resemble windmill paddles than the billowing sails of a clipper. Moreover the sails act as stabilizers, ensuring less pitching and rolling than on a conventional ship.

The ship is environmentally friendly in other areas, too. Sludge is treated onboard with a homogenizer and burnt with fuel oil. Sewage is also treated and burnt. No extra hands are required for this ’sailing ship‘; the ship’s crew is just six in total. The model itself is also revolutionary: at the flick of a switch, the sails unfurl and slew about the mast, navigation lights flicker to life, the radar revolves, and the propeller rotates. It was presented to HRH The Duke of Edinburgh by the President of the Japanese Marine Machinery Development Association.