September 22 - It has emerged that Niels Stolberg, the former head of Beluga Shipping, is now the chairman of the supervisory board of Green Sailing GmbH, a Hamburg-based company that is planning to invest in a new generation of fuel-efficient cruise ship

The company, which has been founded by several shareholders with years of experience in the field of shipping and renewable energy says it has set itself the 'goal of revolutionising the cruise market'.

In shipping circles, Stolberg's appointment may be seen as an interesting development for a man who is still involved in a legal dispute with German prosecutors over his role in the demise of bankrupt heavy lift shipping line, Beluga Shipping.

Green Sailing's Green Cruiser concept is aiming for a 50 percent increase in energy efficiency and related fuel savings compared to conventional cruise ships of this size, using renewable energy sources as support for main propulsion and power generation.

HLPFI understands that the company is currently in talks with various investors and shipyards and plans to start construction of its first cruise ship in 2015, using sailing system technology developed by Innoven GmbH that combines the advantages of a classic sailing rotor with those of a modern profile sail.

Readers will recall that whilst he was running Beluga, some of the company's ships deployed the Skysails kite-propulsion system.

www.green-cruising.com

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