Through our shipping partners, ZESPRI is working closely with SkySails and shipping merchants to reduce the carbon emissions of transporting kiwifruit around the world.
Case Study
Wind is cheaper than oil and is the most environmentally friendly source of energy at sea.
SkySails is a company offering a wind propulsion system to harness this energy, in the form of a sail flown at an altitude of 100 to 300m off the front of ships. This can be fitted to all existing cargo ships, leading to reduced carbon emissions and lower operating costs.
Depending on wind conditions, average annual fuel costs can be reduced by 10 to 35%, with temporary fuel cuts of up to 50% in optimal conditions.
The kites take up very little room on a ship, and only take 10 - 20 minutes to launch and recover. According to Lloyd's Register, there were 50,525 vessels in the world's merchant fleet as at January 2008. SkySails believes kite sails could cut CO2 emissions by 146 million tonnes, accounting for around 0.5% of all human-generated sources.