First Transatlantic Voyage of Kite-powered Ship
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 01.29.08
The big day has finally come. After years of testing and development, and recent media build-up, a kite-powered cargo ship has hit the high seas on the first transatlantic voyage from Bremershaven (Hamburg), Germany to Guanta, Venezuela. The 160m2 SkySail kite wafting over the cargo at the bow of the 132m Multi Purpose Heavy Lift Carrier MS “Beluga SkySails" is a beautiful sight. For a tour of the best video links to see a new day in shipping dawn, see overleaf.
To see the ship in full daylight on the open seas, with interviews, check out the Der Spiegel Online SkySails video. The audio is in German, but translations of the key interviews are included below.
If you are patient and/or value beauty, SkySails Maiden Voyage video linkshows impressive, but less well edited, footage of the launch of the SkySail. The first minute of video shows the ship leaving port at night, against the lights of Hamburg. The SkySail kite makes its first appearance about 2:40 into the stream.
Translations of relevant points in the Spiegel TV report:
Stephan Wrage, Managing Director of SkySails: "In the beginning we were just really laughed at. Today, they say only 'that was really foresightful,' that we started development already back then. And wind is always cheaper than oil. The resource costs, the raw material costs, the fuel prices have developed so dramatically; we can really make significant savings."
Ship's Captain Lutz Held: "A ship like this can, for example, reduce the emissions; that means, we are not emitting so much CO2 into the air as other ships. And the transport sector as a whole will prevent enormous amounts of emissions."
Stephan Brabeck, Technical Manager of SkySails: "It's about, on the one hand, saving fuel, which of course makes the ship owners happy and is the reason they installed the system; and on the other hand, it is ecological, that means we are saving resources, less fuel is used, fewer emissions are released from the ships and in this way the environment is protected."
In addition to describing the SkySails system, which TreeHugger readers already know from earlier articles on Beluga and SkySails, the video reports that fuels savings can reach 50%, but this reflects optimal conditions. Actual savings are projected at 10 to 35%, depending on conditions and the type of ship. Nonetheless, this can represent savings of $1000/day in fuel costs, which can easily justify the $500,000 cost of the Sky Sail even if ecological impacts are disregarded. A win-win situation so to speak.
Good news! Very cool.
As oil keeps getting more expensive, these will look like a better and better deal.. And as more are being produced and installed, their price will go down further.
This really is excellent. I wondered if they'd make it to market!
The city is called Bremerhaven in the federal state of Bremen, not Hamburg.
---Auth Note---
Thanks. For the geographically and politically curious, Bremerhaven and Bremen are a two-city state in Germany, although the federal state of Niedersachsen separates Bremen from its port-sister. Hamburg is its own state. Hamburg was used as a reference in this article because the ship hails out of Hamburg, and it is the author's completely unscientifically based opinion that the reference to Hamburg will help readers have a geographical sense about where Bremershaven is located. Apologies for any implication otherwise.
What a fantastic product! The ability to more than recoup your costs inside of two years is a hell of a selling point. Hopefully these sails can last more than 5 years.
While CO2 emissions would be reduced, sulfer dioxide emissions would be substantially reduced and this is really the important point. Most ships, once in international waters, burn bunker crude with a sulfur content >1,000ppm. Nasty stuff.
This is what I am talking about!!!! A business wants to save money by investing in a great idea that also benefits the environment. Not some big bloated overbearing know it all gov't agency telling people what to do. Kodo's!!!
This is very cool. Now what if the entire ship was powered this way? Oh, wait, I guess then we'd be going back a hundred years on our shipping technology. Then again, they didnt use any fuel. Its wonderful to see companies taking this up!
Yet another great day for the enviroment. Such progress makes my day!!!