Diederik Parlevliet, CEO of Parlevliet & Van der Plas B.V., one Europe’s largest fishing companies and Stephan Wrage, Managing Director of Hamburg-based SkySails, have signed a purchase deal for installing world’s first towing-kite wind propulsion system on a fishing trawler. It is informed that SkySails propulsion is scheduled to be placed in operation early next year aboard the ROS-171 “Maartje Theadora” fishing trawler.
According to the information Parlevliet & Van der Plas and SkySails will be evaluating whether the wind propulsion system needs to be modified for use on fishing vessels as part of a pilot project funded by the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) and the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Diederik Parlevliet told that they are looking for-ward to significant fuel savings by using the SkySails-System, particularly during those extended transfer runs to the African coast and in the South Pacific, not to mention the potential savings during actual fishing operations.
According to SkySails the testing not confirm the viability of this towing-kite propulsion concept on board but the measurements of the tractive force generated make the SkySails-System the most capable and effective wind propulsion system in the world. SkySails is currently fitting its system onto a series of three new cargo ships belonging to the Wessels Shipping Company of Haren an der Ems.
Meanwhile, SkySails is working full steam to expand production in order to be able to produce larger quantities of the system starting at the beginning of next year. SkySails and the venerable Zeppelin Group established a joint venture called “Zeppelin SkySails Sales & Service”.
