"Rising fuel costs and climate-change-related requirements and restrictions are forcing the shipping industry to change its way of thinking," said Zeppelin president & CEO Ernst Susanek. "The combination of cutting-edge diesel engine technologies from MaK and Caterpillar and the wind propulsion systems from SkySails will allow us to chart a new and much more promising course in our industry. This partnership not only fully accommodates the development of new market potential in the maritime industry, but also follows the future-minded tradition set forth by our company's founder: the courage to try something new and to believe in its success."
SkySails propulsion is currently in use on two cargo ships belonging to Beluga Shipping and the Wessels Reederei as part of pilot trials on various shipping routes. SkySails will begin series production in 2009 - with production capacity already booked for a year in advance.
Depending on wind conditions, SkySails propulsion can reduce cargo vessels' fuel costs by an average of 10% - 35%.
Some 60,000 of the 100,000 ships at sea today can be retrofitted with such a towing-kite propulsion system, and more than 150 million tons of CO2 emissions could be saved each year were SkySails technology to be used systematically throughout the world.