The MV Auriga is the world's first solar powered cargo ship, using solar panels to generate 10% of the ships total power. The ship will be used to transport over 6,400 cars from Japan to the United States.

To generate the additional power, the M/V Auguria uses a bank of 328 solar panels mounted to the ship's top deck. The solar grid supplements the ships internal electrical grid while at sea or in port, and is able to generate 40 kilowatts or the equivalent of powering 10 average homes. The overall amount of energy produced doesn't seem like much, but when you consider the total amount of power required to move one of these gargantuan cargo vessels, it translates into a huge monetary and environmental savings for the ship and the operating company.

It's more than likely, that the application of solar powered or solar supplemented ships will grow in the near future at a rapid clip, as more and more companies begin to realize the positive benefits of doing so, and considering the fact that the technology is still in its infancy, the impact on entire shipping industry could prove enormous.