Drone Ship

Many of our products are manufactured overseas. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Rather than depending on foreign aid and charity, developing countries are sharing in our prosperity by making some of the products we buy. But this leads to the problem of pollution, energy waste, and global warming when the goods are shipped across the ocean. The cotton in your shirt may cross the Pacific several times before it gets to you. I would suggest that non perishable goods be carried in sailing ships with self reefing and self trimming sails and self steering, following a computer programmed course, with depth finders to avoid reefs, and robotic controlled evasion of other vessels and obstacles. There would be no on board crew. A land based technician would monitor the vessel at all times, working in shifts, to control the ship in an emergency such as a typhoon, or to override malfunctioning controls. There would be an auxiliary motor for entering and leaving ports and for aid in bad weather and piracy.