Kite assistance for large fishing vessel

A SkySails system is scheduled to be placed in operation early next year aboard the ROS-171 Maartje Theadora factory trawler. “We are looking forward 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,” says shipowner Diederik Parlevliet, “while at the same time enabling us to reduce enormous amounts of CO₂ emissions and make a big contribution to safeguarding the climate.”

At 141m in length, the Maartje Theadora is Germany’s largest fishing vessel and is operated by Sassnitz-based Westbank Hochseefischerei, a member of the Parlevliet & Van der Plas Group. The ship has two MaK main engines that produce a total of 8,640 kW. It will be the first fishing vessel with a SkySails kite; a 160m² system, like those already in use on cargo ships, has been selected. The wind propulsion system is being tested and evaluated as part of a pilot project funded by the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) and the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

SkySails is currently fitting its towing-kite propulsion system onto a series of three new cargo ships belonging to Wessels Shipping, and is expanding production in order to be able to produce larger quantities of the system.