I found this article, about the placement algorithms for containers on a ship, fascinating.
Today’s invention adds another variable to be optimised.
Container ships of the future might become enormous, even by today’s standards -and potentially much faster.
This opens up the possibility of stacking the containers on deck to form a relatively low-drag aerofoil shape.
In addition, the ship would have incorporated into each side of its hull, a pair of huge, flat surfaces (yellow).
These would act as low-drag elevators, so that, at speed, the hull would be raised by perhaps 0.5m out of the water, cutting the overall drag on the vessel significantly.
