Cargill has signed an agreement with Greek ship owner/manager Anbros Maritime S.A. (Anbros) to install the world’s largest kite on its Aghia Marina dry bulk cargo vessel.

The Aghia Marina typically transports cargoes of agricultural and industrial raw materials. The 170 metre long carrier, built in 1994, has a service speed of up to 14 knots and can carry about 28,500 tonnes of dry bulk cargoes at any one time, making it the largest vessel to use the wind power technology created by SkySails GmbH (SkySails).

Last February, Cargill announced it had signed a supply agreement with SkySails that aims to use wind power technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the shipping industry. SkySails, based in Hamburg, has developed an innovative, patented technology that uses a kite which flies ahead of the vessel and generates enough propulsion to reduce consumption of bunker fuel by up to 35 percent in ideal sailing conditions.

“We are delighted to partner with Anbros and announce the Aghia Marina as the largest vessel to use the SkySails technology to date”, said Roger Janson, head of Cargill’s ocean transportation business. “As Cargill is one of the world’s largest charterers of dry bulk freight, we take our environmental stewardship commitments very seriously and actively seek opportunities to help raise industry standards in a number of areas. We’ve had an excellent relationship with Anbros for many years and are delighted that they see the potential of this technology from both an environmental and fuel saving perspective.”

Under the terms of the agreement, the 320m2 kite will be installed on the Aghia Marina in the first quarter of 2012, and the system will be fully up and running in a matter of weeks thereafter. Anbros has now joined Cargill and SkySails in the development and testing of the technology. For the next five years the Aghia Marina, which Cargill has on long-term charter, will use the SkySails system. SkySails will be responsible for training the crew of the Aghia Marina on how to operate the kite propulsion. The SkySails towing kite will be connected to the ship by rope and will fly in a figure-of-eight formation at a height of between 100 to 420 metres. It is computer-controlled by an automatic pod to maximise wind benefits.

“Anbros Maritime is proud to announce the signing of an agreement with Cargill and SkySails to use wind power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel costs in the shipping industry,” said George J. Angelakis, director of Anbros. “We are honored to have been selected by Cargill to pioneer this ground-breaking green technology. We see this choice as an acknowledgement of our long-standing service in the industry and our reputation for a high standard of operational and technical management, maintenance, reliability and safety. Cargill and Anbros have been collaborating for many years and this agreement will strengthen these ties even further. We are committed to the success of this project in the hope that it will usher in a new era of greener shipping.”

“We applaud Anbros for joining this project and selecting the Aghia Marina as the largest vessel to embrace our technology to date”, said Stephan Wrage, managing director of SkySails. “We are also very impressed with the drive and ambition shown by Cargill in influencing a ship owner of this significance. We are confident that this partnership will lead to further developments and in particular see great potential to incorporate our technology on even larger ships in the future.”

Cargill is a significant global transporter of agricultural, energy and industrial commodities. Although the company does not today own vessels, its ocean transportation business ships more than 185 million tonnes of commodities each year, in the process connecting supply from areas of surplus with demand in areas of deficit.