With the vision of solving the problem of shipping pollution, the EcoClipper cooperative bought a large sailing ship with overdue maintenance at the beginning of this year: De Tukker. The shipping industry burns huge quantities of heavy fuel oil to transport all the products we import. If you were to do this transport with sailing ships, this would save an enormous amount of emissions. However, the conversion of De Tukker into a sailing freighter was not without its setbacks.
Franeker, the Netherlands. (26/10/2022). When Jorne Langelaan, the founder of EcoClipper, signed De Tukker’s purchase contract at the beginning of this year, he hoped for rapid financing and renovation. In order to be able to serve freight customers who want their products to be transported emission-free this year. He could not imagine that the world economy would be turned upside down, and the ship was in worse condition than expected.
“After an initially good start, funding came to a standstill after the start of the war in Ukraine. In order to be able to make the necessary investments, one of the initial investors provided a mortgage on the ship. Now that it becomes clear that most of the work has been completed, I also expect the financing to come together.” According to Jorne, who is positive about the future of sustainable transport by sailing ship.
Most of the renovation was done by the Talsma shipyard, located in Franeker. When it became clear that there was much more work to be done on the ship, it was Jelle Talsma, founder and director of the shipyard of the same name, who offered to replace the entire underwater hull. He said: “This is not fun now, it benefits no one, but if the ship sails cargo next year and points the way to sustainable logistics for the future, you will quickly overcome these setbacks”.
On Saturday 29 October, the ship will be open to the public from 2 p.m. on the quay at the Talsma Shipyard in Franeker. Anyone can become a member of the EcoClipper Coöperatie U.A. and thus co-owner of De Tukker and share in the future of wind transport.
Source: Hellenic Shipping News
