German Fishing Boat Flies Giant Kite to Save Fuel

Maartje Theadora, skysails, german fishing boat flies giant kite, fuel consumption, greenhouse gases, fuel, carbon dioxide, emissions, germany, german fishing boat, green transportation, wind power, sailboat, giant kite system, clean transportation, wind powered boat Michael Kooren for Reuters

With the cost (both financial and environmental) of fuel these days, everyone is trying to cut back in whatever ways they can. If you’re talking boats, you can always go solar or electric to cut emissions, but one German fishing boat called the Maartje Theadora decided to take a slightly different route – flying a giant blue and white kite from their craft to harness trade winds and help power their engine. The idea may sound elementary to some, but according to the operators of the ship, the “system” is expected to cut fuel consumption by 10% and up to 30% in the next two years of development. Since global fisheries account for about 1% of world oil consumption and emit more than 130 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere per year, this kite system sounds like smoother and greener sailing to us!

Walter van Holst says:

March 21, 2010 at 9:38 am

Sadly enough this particular ship is one of those floating fish harvesters that are depleting the oceans’ fish stocks. But now in a more ‘sustainable’ way.