“Irresponsible!” was the nicest expression Uwe Köhler used when referring to Volkswagen. In all my years as a journalist, I had learned that companies are careful not to comment on other companies, let alone criticize them. Not so Köhler: the Hamburg native was furious. The Volkswagen Group had withdrawn from Quadriga. Quadriga was the idea of building a cargo ship under sail. Shortly after Volkswagen was caught cheating on diesel emissions data, the idea arose in Wolfsburg that transporting cars by sailing ship could improve the company's tarnished image. But after Köhler's Sailing Cargo Schifffahrtsbeteiligungs GmbH had already put in a lot of effort, VW's logistics department scrapped the project.
The Quadriga was to be the first ship in the Ecoliner class.
picture: https://www.marinelink.com/sponsored/pressrelease/quadriga-aqua-green-i…
The shipping company Döhle and the renowned classification society Lloyds Register had participated in Köhler's vision: The ship “will be equipped with four DynaRig masts and will operate on hybrid propulsion with sails and diesel-electric engines, and an optional battery system for peak loads. The vessel will be capable of sailing at 10-12 knots with the aim of reaching 14-16 knots in the next few years through combined expertise.”
After the car transporter failed, Köhler developed the idea of building the Quadriga as a sailing salmon production facility. The current generated by the voyage would supply the fish in the tanks with fresh water. As the facility would be mobile, the concentrated emissions of stationary facilities could be avoided. In Private Banking Magazine, one of Köhler's colleagues explained that the sailing fish farm would be 250 meters long and equipped with around 10,000 square meters of sail area.
This gigantic fish quadriga also remained just an idea. Sailing Cargo Schifffahrtsbeteiligungs GmbH was deleted from the commercial register, and Uwe Köhler's phone number is no longer in service.
It all started with the founders of Tres Hombres
The Quadriga was originally developed by the Dutch design firm Dykstra Naval Architects under the name Ecoliner. (Jungblut, 2014 / Arte Doku, 2014) Köhler became interested in the idea while Dykstra was designing the Ecoliner in the early 2010s in collaboration with the shipping company Fairtransport and the three founders of Tres Hombres.
This is how the Ecoliner appeared on Dykstra's screens.
picture: Dykstra Naval Architects
“The Ecoliner is ready to leave the drawing board, and we are looking for partners. We need investors, potential customers, and supporters,” said Fairtransport's website at the time. A video from those days already shows the Fairtransport logo tailored to the Ecoliner. The Ecoliner was to be 138 meters long and a diesel-electric auxiliary drive was planned. And in the TV documentary on Arte TV, one of the captains explains that they want to build not just one, but several Ecoliners.
Fairtransport had already planned to use the Ecoliner as its company logo. Since Fairtransport abandoned the project, the logo now shows the Tres Hombres.
A small ship that runs on its engines in calm conditions in order to keep to its schedule emits more greenhouse gases per ton-mile than large ships. This must be subtracted from the climate efficiency gained by sailing. The calculations were made using software that converts meteorological data into optimized shipping routes. The sobering conclusion: with a diesel engine, the ship is not more climate-friendly than large freighters. The three captains of the Tres Hombres therefore abandoned the project.
The Dyna-Rigg
The key feature of the Ecoliner is its propulsion system, the Dyna-Rigg: This type of square rigging was developed in the 1960s by Wilhelm Prölss in Hamburg for cargo ships, but has so far only been implemented on two large billionaire yachts. It consists of free-standing rotating masts on which the square sails can be rolled in and out automatically like blinds, which can be done by one person alone at the touch of a button from the bridge. This saves on crew, as no one has to climb the masts to set and furl the sails. On the yachts “Maltese Falcon” and “Black Pearl” – both three-masted vessels – the naval architects were able to demonstrate that this rig is excellent for sailing: Unlike traditional square sails, where there is a gap between the sail and the yard below it, the Dyna-Rigg creates a continuous closed sail area. This uses wind energy more efficiently. The fact that the masts stand free without stays and shrouds would also make loading and unloading in port easier.
German captain Hartmut B. Schwarz, who brought with him experience from the tall ships Gorch Fock and Sea Cloud, had already developed his own version of the Dyna-Rig for an iron ore freighter in the 20th century in collaboration with Bremer Vulkan Werft (which went bankrupt in 1997). Detailed calculations and exact courses for the route of iron ore from Brazil to China resulted in cost savings of $1.2 million for the round trip, as no fuel would be consumed. Schwarz died before the ship was built. The ship of the Irish energy company B9 (Arte documentary, 2014) has also remained just a plan so far.
Greenpeace builds the Ecoliner's little sister
In contrast, it was announced in 2024 that Greenpeace, in collaboration with Dykstra, is building a 75-meter ship with a Dyna rig at the Freire shipyard in Spain (Cummins, 2024). This ship is about half the length of the Ecoliner and has two masts instead of four. At 2,000 square meters, the sail area is also half the size of the original design. The Rainbow Warrior IV will thus be a kind of little sister to the Ecoliner, which was originally conceived as a modern continuation of the Tres Hombres.
“Greenpeace's deputy international program director, Fabien Ronda, says the NGO will use the new ship to ‘hunt down and confront plunderers and polluters on the high seas,’” writes the Marine Industry News portal. “Greenpeace says it will also be used to protect marine biodiversity and demonstrate state-of-the-art shipping technology.” The Rainbow Warrior IV is scheduled to set sail in 2027.
Alternative fuel systems such as hydrogen, battery packs, and solar cells will be installed for auxiliary propulsion and power supply. This eliminates the reason why Fairtransport abandoned the project at the time, namely that the climate efficiency of small ships suffers massively when they run on fossil fuels.
Veer revisits the idea
This also applies to the version of the Ecoliner that Danielle Southcott – née Doggett – is planning. “The sailing cargo ship is designed using the Dynarig sail system as primary propulsion with auxiliary electric propulsion powered by green hydrogen fuwel cells,” says Dykstra, describing the project. "Design of the ship features an innovative hull shape specially developed for wind powered shipping. (...) The VEER design received Approval in Principle from the American Bureau of Shipping.“
After leaving Sailcargo Inc. in Costa Rica, Danielle founded the company Veer in the Bahamas. It promotes ”emission-free steel container ships," whereas the Ceiba, which Sailcargo built in Costa Rica, was deliberately made of wood because wood stores CO2. “Steel is obviously more complex in terms of sustainability. (...) But we are looking into green hydrogen steel,” Danielle explained at the time (Adams, 2022). Sailcargo also had the intention of integrating modern sailing freighters with Dyna rigs into its fleet.
The ship is to be 100 meters long and transport up to 152 six-meter containers (TEU). That is one-hundredth of an average container ship (around 15,000 TEU) or 160 times less than of a 24,000 TEU megacarrier. If the ship were to be powered by fossil fuel in calm conditions, its greenhouse gas emissions in relation to its transport performance would be higher than those of the container giants. Veer, like Greenpeace, now wants to avoid this by using green hydrogen.
Veer now intends to build the Ecoliner as a container ship, among other things.
picture: © Veer (Linkedin)
It's not just about containers: “Veer is open to all types of commercial ship designs – from container ships to bulk carriers and tankers to RoRo ships and more. Veer is also capable of designing clean expedition ships, including polar expedition ships,” according to the website.
Partner shipyard collapses
On August 3, 2023, India Shipping News and other shipping portals reported that Veer had signed a letter of intent with Fosen Wert in Stralsund, eastern Germany. The corresponding media release from Veer can be found on LinkedIn: “Veer and Fosen have signed a formal LOI to develop, construct, sell, and purchase two (2) firm units of wind powered and hydrogen assisted container vessels.” Fosen had leased the former shipyard site from the city of Stralsund.
Less than three weeks after signing the letter of intent with Veer, on August 23, Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) and others reported that the Fosen shipyard had filed for bankruptcy: "According to union information, the company did not pay standard wages and only created about 45 jobs. Significantly more had been agreed with the city, allegedly 100. The background to the dispute could also be unpaid lease payments. (...) With the termination of the lease agreements, Fosen lost its business premises – apparently a cause of the insolvency. The city cut off the company's electricity shortly after the termination."
The crash may have been influenced by the fact that the Norwegian parent company had already been forced to file for bankruptcy in January – amid a series of bankruptcies among shipyards unable to compete with cheaper rivals from the Far East. The same fate had already befallen wind turbine manufacturer Enercon: during the construction of its “E-Ship 1,” which uses Flettner rotors to use the wind as an auxiliary propulsion system, the Lindenau shipyard went bankrupt and the ship had to be completed at another shipyard.
The role of politics
The hurdle that caused the earlier Ecoliner projects to fail is financing. Veer is also looking for investors and can count on the fact that the political discussion about the decarbonization of maritime transport has gained momentum since then.
The UN maritime organization IMO has postponed its decision on the measures to be taken to achieve net zero by 2050 by one year. And it may well be that the intended rules will be watered down during this time in order to overcome resistance. However, regional regulations are coming into force, such as the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS) and its FuelEU regulation.
With images like these, the shipping industry is discussing the measures taken by the EU: exhaust gases will become more expensive in the future, as the EU stipulates that greenhouse gas intensity per energy used must decrease. Those who fail to do so will have to pay.
picture: https://maritimecyprus.com/2024/12/22/maritime-compliance-fueleu-maritime-masterclass/)
Put simply, this means that ships that emit high levels of greenhouse gases have to pay a penalty. These regulations are becoming increasingly stringent, making it more and more expensive over the years. On the other hand, emission rights from ships that fall below the permitted limits can be transferred to other ships. A shipowner can therefore use a particularly climate-friendly ship to reduce the penalties for its other ships. “One Veer ship can save a ship owner $2M annually by avoiding penalty from FuelEU,” the website advertises, because “Veer operates deep green vessels which exceed all emissions regulations worldwide.” Among other things, “due to the over-compliance of Veer deep green vessels, Veer enables existing shipping companies to offset the emissions of their entire fleet of ships, ensuring compliance with emissions regulations such as FuelEu and the Emissions Trading System (ETS)."
Veer therefore expects that stricter climate regulations decided by politicians will help to finally build the Ecoliner. The more expensive fossil fuel emissions are, the better the prospects for the Ecoliner.
In the greenhouse gas avoidance market, the Ecoliner competes with other options such as the use of new fuels. This path is preferred by both regulators such as the EU and shipping companies. The problem with this is that these carbon-free or low-carbon fuels are not available in sufficient quantities in time. Another option is to retrofit existing tankers and bulk carriers with auxiliary sails to reduce fuel consumption by a few percent. However, container ships lack the necessary space, as the containers are stacked well above the deck.
Last but not least, politically initiated measures that create the framework conditions crucial for the construction of the Ecoliner are under pressure. They are to be diluted or prevented as part of the anti-ecological counter-revolution. For example, the current US administration has threatened reprisals against all states that vote in favor of measures already discussed in the IMO.
References
Adams, Mary (2022): Ceiba – The Future of Carbonless Shipping, Interview für das Online-Magazin 3rd Space, https://3rd-space.org/ceiba-the-future-of-carbonless-shipping/, abgerufen 5.12.2025
Jungblut, Sarah-Indra (2014): Tatendrang: Der Ecoliner segelt in die Zukunft der Frachtschifffahrt, https://reset.org/tatendrang-der-ecoliner-segelt-die-zukunft-der-frachtschifffahrt-08142014/, abgerufen 5.12.2025
Cummins,, Anna (2024): Greenpeace baut Segelschiff mit DynaRig-System, https://de.marineindustrynews.co.uk/southern-spars-secures-dynarig-contract-with-greenpeace/ abgerufen 5.12.2025
Arte Doku (2014): Klar zur Wende, Rückenwind für Frachtsegler, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1Hd_Gpg1mo