French shipping company Windcoop announced that it has placed an order for the “world’s first” wind-powered open-top container vessel at the RMK Marine shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey. The new vessel, which is expected to be built in 2026 and commissioned in May 2027, will operate on the Madagascar-France route upon delivery.
The 91.3-meter long container vessel will be equipped with a range of environmentally friendly technologies and will be powered by three irregular sail systems manufactured by Computed Wing Sail (CWS) with a sail area of 350 square meters. Based on the sail technology, the vessel is expected to emit 60% less CO2 than conventional cargo vessels.
Windcoop said the total cost of the container vessel project is expected to be around €28.5 million. Of this amount, €6.8 million have been raised in the form of equity, and the rest will be obtained through structured loans and counter-guarantees, both from French banks. The company is planning to build a second vessel to “broaden” its transportation network, which is said to be at the research stage.
France has been one of the most “active” countries in terms of wind-powered vessels, and its attention to this green technology is increasing in 2024. Last November, the French sailing freight company TransOceanic Wind Transport (TOWT) held a christening ceremony for its first sailing vessel “Anemos” and laid the keel for the third vessel in the series “Atlantis”; at the end of December, TOWT received the second new vessel in the series “Artemis”.
In related news, the RMK Marine shipyard has taken delivery at the end of January 2025 of the “world’s first” commercially operated ro-ro ship equipped with a wind-assisted system, the “Neoliner Origin”. The 136-meter-long ship, ordered by French shipping company Neoline, was under construction in November 2023 and is expected to be fully operational this summer.