This blog aims to introduce you to the EcoClipper crew!
This week meet members of the core team, the ones that have been invested in EcoClipper from the very beginning…
Elise
Growing up at the beach, near the sea and with the elements triggered my respect for nature. I’ve been sailing since I was a teenager, for fun, work and travel. I got involved with sailing cargo about 10 years ago when I first crossed the ocean on sail-cargo vessel Tres Hombres.
Read more about Elise
What is your role at Ecoclipper and what do you most enjoy about it?
I’ve been working at EcoClipper from the start in 2018. I’ve seen it evolving into this great company with many people and companies involved. At the moment I’m involved in PR and Design.
What is your future vision of Ecoclipper as a company?
I envision EcoClipper to take the lead in sustainable transport and travel worldwide. Opening the eyes of a lot of people and companies to real sustainability, nature and the way we treat it / her.
With a great team of enthusiastic conscious and skilled people we’ll be setting up some great shipping lines (and I can’t wait to use them traveling the world…)
Dirk
My name is Dirk Klaassen. In 2011/12, I sailed the Atlantic Ocean together with Jorne, Elise and Paul on the Tres Hombres. I discovered that cargo can be transported from one side of the world to the other side perfectly by sailing freighter without an engine and only powered by the wind!
Read more about Dirk
What is your role at Ecoclipper and what do you most enjoy about it?
At EcoClipper I am responsible for finances (accounting, payments and financial reporting), human resource management and legal affairs such as drawing up agreements and contracts.
What is your future vision of Ecoclipper as a company?
In five years’ time, I think EcoClipper will be the market leader in the emission-free transport of ecologically responsible cargo by sea with sailing ships without an engine. Like many people, I am very concerned about our future planet. The way it goes now with pollution, it can no longer be done. I try to contribute to a cleaner environment by, for example, no longer flying and traveling by train as much as possible and eating organic vegetables. And this is only a very small personal contribution. By working at EcoClipper, I can contribute on a bigger scale to a better environment, because we will build ships that do not cause environmental pollution.
Cleem
My name is Cleem Doedens, I’m retired and living in beautiful Enkhuizen. In 2012 I coincidentally met Jorne Langelaan in a pub in Den Helder. He told me about the Tres Hombres, I got enthusiastic by the concept and joined in as a volunteer. I didn’t have any experience whatsoever in sailing by wind propulsion, so I made a few short trips and found out I love this most natural way of transport.
Read more about Cleem
What is your role at Ecoclipper and what do you most enjoy about it?
As an Ambassador for Ecoclipper my role is not a specific one: at the moment I do research on several subjects such as cargo possibilities, ways of financing and marketing, report on these, translate articles from English to Dutch and v.v. and do my (written) part on spreading the Ecoclipper message in every which way I can, because I became a true believer of the necessity of a transition in sea transport and truly want this project to be realised. Also for my own benefit, because in my daydreams I can picture myself being on board already.
It’s also very inspiring and enriching working together with a merely young, international group of enthusiasts.
What is your future vision of Ecoclipper as a company?
Looking at the development of the sail cargo industry during the last decade and the increasing awareness among consumers on what they consume, how it’s produced and where it comes from , I think the growth will continue for many years.
For a long time I thought retirement was the end of a line. Apparently not and to my pleasant surprise now the line has sails attached to it.
Jorne
My name is Jorne Langelaan, I am the Founder and CEO of EcoClipper. I have extensive experience in the maritime industry. From the age of 12 I went to sea as a ship’s boy on my uncle’s motor cargo ship. My first job on a sailing ship was a few years later on a topsail schooner, where I sailed with passengers on the North Sea and Dutch lakes. This was followed by a job on the famous cargo schooner Avontuur, on which I worked throughout the 1990’s in the Caribbean. These experiences inspired me to acquire my Master’s certificate for
Read more about Jorne
……. certificate for coastal vessels, ocean-going vessels and cargo sailing vessels at the Enkhuizen Maritime College (Enkhuizer Zeevaartschool). After receiving this certificate I sailed ‘the seven seas’ in every position (from deckhand to master), and on all types of ships (from tugboats to three-masted barques).
In 2007, along with two others, I founded sail cargo company Fairtransport, where I remain one of the major shareholders. In addition, I hold a certificate of the Dutch Ship brokers (Nederlandse Zeebevrachters Sociëteit); this certificate covers maritime economics. I made a final voyage as Master on Tres Hombres, a sailing cargo vessel managed by Fairtransport, before starting EcoClipper in 2018.
What is your role at Ecoclipper and what led you to start EcoClipper?
My role, the role of CEO, in a start-up stage is to build a solid foundation of company values, vision and mission. That foundation then must be translated into the forming of a strong team, culture and strategy. This will begin turning a flywheel of exponential growth for EcoClipper, in the sailing cargo and travel industry. So I am responsible for the overall success of the company and the development and execution of long-term strategies, with the goal of establishing a leading and truly sustainable sail cargo/passenger ship company.
I love sailing. But I really like the idea of seeing a sailing cargo ship operation and being able to walk into a port with the ships loading and unloading. I love the tradition, the maritime stories, the sea-lore, everything about it. If I just liked sailing, I would have kept my job from years ago, but it’s much more than that.
I also love the Earth, nature and life. I’m very motivated to do whatever is possible to continue life and protect the beauty of nature on Earth. If I wasn’t launching EcoClipper and encouraging the company to grow, I would join the revolutionaries, those campaigning for nature. But by founding EcoClipper, I can use my skills and passion to contribute to a sustainable future.
What is your future vision of Ecoclipper as a company?
EcoClipper will be the first company in the twenty-first century that is designing, launching and enabling investment in a fleet of new zero-emission sailing cargo clippers! Our mission is to take the lead in connecting the world’s continents and local economies with a mode of transport that is ethical, sustainable and profitable. If our society is serious about sustainability; EcoClipper is the future of logistics! EcoClipper should become, and remain, the most sustainable transport company in all different aspects and operational processes of the organisation.
