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The Odyssey of the Ecoliner

Designed as a modern sailing cargo ship, the Ecoliner was developed in the first half of the 2010s. Companies such as Fairtransport in the Netherlands and Sailing Cargo Schifffahrtsbeteiligungs GmbH in Hamburg tried in vain to build the ship. At one point, it was even discussed as a car transporter for VW. Now Greenpeace is using the concept for its new flagship, and the Veer company in the Bahamas is working on the construction of a container ship.
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Nuclear ships won't save the climate

The shipping industry is under pressure. Even though the advancing climate crisis is not a high priority on land, measures such as the EU's emissions trading system and fuel measures are making greenhouse gas emissions more expensive at sea. However, decarbonized fuels are not available in sufficient quantities. As a result, nuclear technology, which was shelved after a few attempts at civilian ship propulsion, is back in the spotlight.
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Safety: The difference between regulations and practice

The safety regulations issued by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) weigh over a kilo in printed form. However, crews that have been reduced to a minimum are often literally exhausted to the point of collapse. This affects both operations and technical monitoring on board. Undetected defects can have catastrophic consequences. Even the most detailed regulations are of little use in such cases.
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Indigenous knowledge for rewarding climate investments

Shortly before Christmas 2025, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) published its seventh report, Global Environment Outlook 7 (GEO–7). In it, the UN organization emphasizes the importance of investing in the environment for future economic gains and sustainable development. This requires a fundamental transformation in which indigenous knowledge plays a crucial role.
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Avontuur – Adventure on many levels

The “Avontuur” (Dutch for “adventure”) is one of the few ships that already transports cargo under sail today. “The Avontuur should primarily be seen as food for thought,” says Captain Cornelius Bockermann. “By returning to a millennia-old, sustainable, proven propulsion system, namely sails, it stands not primarily as a symbol of a necessary technological new beginning, but in particular as a symbol of a necessary change of heart in society.”
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Just “romantic” or criticism of productivity?

There is a difference in efficiency of several thousand times between traditional sailing freighters and modern container giants. However, this seemingly ‘outdated’ craftsmanship is not due to ‘romanticism’ or nostalgia. Rather, it contains a critique of high industrial productivity, which is only possible through the use of fossil fuels – with the corresponding climate consequences.
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It's about more than just greenhouse gases

Can the cargo sailing movement make shipping climate neutral? Or even solve the climate problem? That would be nice! But a movement of a few hundred activists cannot achieve what powerful corporations want to block and what legions of politicians have failed to do so far. That is why people and mobilisation are crucial for building pressure from civil society.
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