First Fishing Trawler to be Fitted with SkySails
Parlevliet & Van der Plas B.V., one of Europe's biggest fishing companies, turns to innovative towing-kite propulsion to save fuel.
Hamburg / Wismar / Sassnitz, Germany / Katwijk, Netherlands.
Diederik Parlevliet, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Parlevliet & Van der Plas B.V., one of the largest European fishing companies with headquarters in Katwijk in the Netherlands, and Stephan Wrage, the Managing Director of the Hamburg-based manufacturer SkySails, signed a purchase agreement on 6 October for the world's first towing-kite wind propulsion system to be installed on a fishing trawler.
SkySails propulsion is scheduled to be placed in operation early next year aboard the ROS-171 "Maartje Theadora" fishing 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 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 141 meters in length, the "Maartje Theadora" is Germany's largest fishing vessel and is operated by the Sassnitz-based Westbank Hochseefischerei GmbH, a member of the Parlevliet & Van der Plas Group. The ship has two MaK main engines that produce a total of 8,640 kW of power. The vessel will be fitted with a 160m2 SkySails propulsion system like those already in use on cargo ships. Parlevliet & Van der Plas and the systems manufacturer SkySails will be evaluating if and in what way the wind propulsion system needs to be modified for use on fishing vessels on board the "Maartje Theadora" as part of a pilot project funded by the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) and the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
SkySails propulsion previously underwent pilot testing for a year and a half aboard the cargo ships "Beluga SkySails" owned by the Beluga Group and the "Michael A." from the Wessels Shipping Company. Not only did the testing confirm the viability of this towing-kite propulsion concept on board, the measurements of the tractive force generated make the SkySails-System the most capable and effective wind propulsion system in the world. Thanks to its unprecedented physical properties, the system produces between 5 and 25 times more power per square meter than conventional sail propulsion. Even a 160m2 SkySails generates a tractive force of 8 metric tons, which is comparable to the thrust of an Airbus A318 engine.
SkySails is currently fitting its innovative towing-kite propulsion system onto a series of three new cargo ships belonging to the Wessels Shipping Company of Haren an der Ems. Two months ago the "Theseus" became the first ship in this series to enter service with the SkySails. 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" at the beginning of 2009, which began operations in March and handles the worldwide sales and service of SkySails propulsion. All SkySails-Systems can be maintained and rapidly supplied with replacement parts across the globe using the existing service network of the highly respected marine engine supplier Zeppelin Power Systems.
About Parlevliet & Van der Plas B.V.
Parlevliet & Van der Plas B.V. was originally established as a trading company in Katwijk/Netherlands in 1949 by Dirk Parlevliet and the brothers Dirk and Jan van der Plas. Today, 60 years after its founding, Parlevliet & Van der Plas has expanded to become one of Europe's largest companies in the international commercial fishing and processing industry. In addition to its Dutch offices and facilities in Valkenburg, IJmuiden and Katwijk, the group also operates subsidiaries in Germany, Lithuania and the United Kingdom.
The establishment in 1986 of the wholly owned subsidiary Doggerbank Seefischerei GmbH in Bremerhaven marked the launch of the Dutch group's unprecedented business growth and involvement in the fishing industry in Germany. Today the cities of Bremerhaven and Sassnitz are the headquarters of 12 subsidiaries that include a fleet of 6 deep-sea trawlers, Europe's most modern fish processing center, the company Euro Baltic Fischverarbeitungs GmbH that processes an annual volume of 50,000 tons of herring, a trading company to handle the global marketing of products from the processing center and the group's own catches, two cold storage facilities and a brokerage office.
Parlevliet & Van der Plas covers the entire range of commercial fishing pro-ducts and services - from catch to delivery.
One of its major corporate strategy objectives is the development and implementation of measures to ensure a set of sustainable fishing policies in Europe and, for several years already, in the Pacific region. It was with this in mind that Parlevliet & Van der Plas joined with other European fishing companies to establish the Pelagic Freezer Trawler Association. The association has published a policy paper that addresses such key issues as overfishing, discards, the environment, fishing laws and rights, product quality and employment policies.
About SkySails GmbH & Co. KG
SkySails develops, manufactures and markets an internationally patented wind propulsion system for ships based on large towing kites. Depending on wind conditions, a ship's annual average fuel costs can be reduced by 10% to 35% using the SkySails-System. Under optimal wind conditions, fuel consumption can be reduced at times by up to 50%. The SkySails-System can be installed as an auxiliary wind propulsion system on virtually all existing ships and new buildings. Even fishing trawlers and superyachts of over 30 meters in length can be fitted with SkySails propulsion.
SkySails was founded in 2001 and currently has 79 employees. Lead investors are the renowned ship financing company Jan Luiken Oltmann Gruppe GmbH & Co. KG based in Leer and the highly respected marine engine supplier Zeppelin Power Systems GmbH & Co. KG. Furthermore and besides private investors, the group of SkySails investors also includes numerous notable shipping companies such as Triton Seatrade, Reederei Wessels, Reederei Jungerhans, Briese Schiffahrt, and Reederei Opielok.
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