New cargo ships powered by veils will soon be criss-crossing the seas;

Located in the port of Le Havre just a stone’s throw from the CMA CGM building, the premises of Towt doesn’t really reflect its activity at the moment. It’s hard to imagine that on this rainy winter afternoon, an old sailing ship chartered by this young shipping company is crossing the Atlantic Ocean on its way to Marie-Galante, off the coast of Guadeloupe, with its holds full of Bordeaux wine; It’s true that its founder Guillaume Le Grand and his team have just set up their HQ in this international port. A move from Douarnenez in anticipation of a radical change in the life of the company: the construction of his first boat; With its 1,000 tons of available freight, this new 70-meter cargo ship will have a capacity almost 30 times greater than that of the schooners and brigs chartered up to now;

But there’s no question of abandoning the company’s raison d’être: the use of sails as the main means of propulsion. For this 38-year-old Brest native, the most important thing is to start decarbonizing freight transport. This Sciences po graduate Lyon, married to a Colombian co-founder of the company, is not alone in betting on the development of this new clean shipping sector. Two other young companies are on deck;

Located in the port of Le Havre just a stone’s throw from the CMA CGM building, the premises of Towt doesn’t really reflect its activity at the moment. It’s hard to imagine that on this rainy winter afternoon, an old sailing ship chartered by this young shipping company is crossing the Atlantic Ocean on its way to Marie-Galante, off the coast of Guadeloupe, with its holds full of Bordeaux wine; It’s true that its founder Guillaume Le Grand and his team have just set up their HQ in this international port. A move from Douarnenez in anticipation of a radical change in the life of the company: the construction of his first boat; With its 1,000 tons of available freight, this new 70-meter cargo ship will have a capacity almost 30 times greater than that of the schooners and brigs chartered up to now;

Not all these young shipowners took the same options; A pioneer, Guillaume Le Grand wanted to get involved right from the start, by chartering old sailing boats; To prime the pump, he took the risk of becoming a wine, rum, beer, tea, honey and coffee merchant. Towt has completed some fifty crossings, including seven transatlantic ones, on eighteen old sailing ships; “ Even if some shippers quickly put their trust in us, we knew from the outset that we weren’t going to change the face of maritime transport by going round in circles with our old-fashioned boats“, explains Guillaume Le Grand. To limit the financial risk, he chose a small ship costing no more than 12 million euros.

Launched in 2015, Néoline aimed bigger with a boat powered by 4.200 m² sails, with a budget approaching 50 million euros. Even if it means opening up its capital to Nantes-based shipowner Sogestran. “In order to avoid competition from container ships and their unbeatable rates, we designed it in part for non-standard freight,” emphasises Jean Zanuttini.

The case of Zéphyr & Borée, founded in 2017, is even different; To win the tender launched by Ariane Espace in 2018, the company has created a joint venture with the Jifmar Offshore Services group and has associated with the designer of the four fixed sails that will equip the future 121-meter cargo ship, naval architect Marc Van Peteghem. Thanks to the service contract with the European rocket manufacturer, which guarantees the bulk of the operation, financing the boat has been less problematic; This was not the case for the other two companies;

Letters of intent from shippers are not enough to convince bankers”, says Jean Zanuttini, ” they want contracts in due form. “For Neoline, things started to come together last year; After Renault in 2018, the company has succeeded in obtaining firm commitments from manufacturers Manitou and Bénéteau, spirits producer Hennessy and, a few weeks ago, from equipment manufacturer Michelin. Between them, these customers already account for almost all the filling on a route that runs from Saint-Nazaire to Baltimore via Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.

As for Towt, it has succeeded in taking on board some fifteen loaders, including chocolatier Cémoi, coffee importer Belco, rum and champagne producers Longueteau and Drappier; Already fully booked, the future cargo ship will operate round trips between Le Havre and New York, Abidjan, Pointe-à-Pitre and Brazil;

How were these customers convinced? To compensate for the possible lack of wind, these sail-powered freighters will also feature diesel and electric engines that allow them to cruise at speeds of over 14 knots and guarantee punctuality, whatever the weather. “At the end of the day, even reducing speed to 11 knots, which allows us to make 90% use of velocity propulsion, the door-to-door transport time is almost equivalent to that of a conventional carrier“, explains Augustin Merle, Manitou’s Logistics Manager.

With these new vessels, fares have also become more competitive. “The price is a little higher, but it’s guaranteed, whereas with conventional freighters, it can vary by as much as double, depending on market conditions“, observes a Manitou executive.

Above all, there is the satisfaction of participating in the decarbonization of maritime transport; “Although the use of Towt’s sail freighter will require us to review our entire logistics to consolidate shipments into a single load, we are very eager to embark on the adventure,” says Alexandre Bellangé, CEO of Belco.

All that remains is to start building the boats; Having entered into exclusive negotiations with a French shipyard, Towt hopes to start work in early summer; Three “sister-ships” are planned from 2023 onwards;

For Neoline it’s a bit more complicated; After the defection of the Nazairian consortium Néopolia, for lack of a 4 million subsidy requested from the French state, the company is looking for a new site. Time is of the essence, as it has committed to its customers for a launch no later than mid-2023.

After years of gestation, the industry now seems ready to cast off; The climate emergency is opening up a marine boulevard; According to Jean Zanuttini, “no less than 11% of the world’s freight could be switched without any problem to ships powered by diesel engines”.