The innovative and enterprising TOWT team is counting on having the wind at its back
European perspectiveTransOceanic Wind Transport (TOWT) is set to send into service the first of its own sail-powered cargo ships this summer between the ports of Le Havre (where the company is based) and New York City.
Named Anemos, the Greek word for wind, it’s the first of two newly built 5,000-metric-ton vessels to be launched this year, with plans to have another one built every subsequent three months to own 30 by 2030. The goal by 2035 is to have 200 within its fleet.
“We’ve just finalized the order for six more ships,” says founder and CEO Guillaume Le Grand. “There’s also plans to build Panamax vessels with sails to go through the Panama Canal to Asia.”
Designed and constructed by the PIRIOU shipyard in France, the 81-metre (almost 266-foot) sailing cargo ship will carry up to 1,100 metric tons in a single ocean crossing on wind power, making it possible to reduce the carbon emissions related to a traditionally powered voyage by more than 90%.
Built to operate 320 days a year, Anemos will primarily be sail-powered by two masts connected to the same electrically controlled sail rigging spread over two masts without any lines or winches. “These sails have unbelievable power in relation to their surface areas,” Le Grand says. “We’re able to sail into the wind at almost 40 degrees, but we’ll primarily make the most of the crosswinds being three-quarters behind us as the most efficient and safe way to go 10 to 12 knots.”
We’re not in a race but we’re offering a reliable fixed schedule that takes, for example, 13 days to get between Le Havre and New York, and eight between New York and Santa Marta in Colombia
“Where we expect to gain time is with our own custom-made gantry and on-loading/off-loading system that should make it unnecessary to wait on others for shoreside equipment.”
The advanced onboard routing systems will make best use of available wind. The vessels also have two turbo-powered four-stroke engines that can be run individually or together at separate power levels.
Anemos is also the name of the only transport label/certification currently attainable worldwide that guarantees a decarbonized navigation using sail-powered vessels in delivering a product. “The label’s third-party substantiation is a great way to add value and further differentiate products delivered this way,” Le Grand says.
“It’s for those same reasons – transparency with independent verification – that I like the Green Marine Europe program.” TOWT joined as a Green Marine Europe participant in 2022, even before its first vessel was launched.
TOWT has been proving the environmental advantages of wind power by successfully operating chartered sailboats for decarbonized cargo deliveries along the Bay of Biscay, across the English Channel, and across the Atlantic Ocean since 2011.
A lot of people thought we were lunatics when we started out,” Le Grand recalls. “Now there’s more of a realization of the pressure that maritime transportation faces to decarbonize its operations.
Le Grand notes the European Union’s aim to eliminate 90% of its net greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by 2040 compared to 1990 levels to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent.
Starting in 2025, ships trading in the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes all the EU nations plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, must have a yearly average GHG intensity of energy used on board the vessel below a certain required level. This level must include the well-to-wake GHG emissions of all fuel use.
This yearly average is measured as GHG emissions per energy unit (gCO2e/MJ). The GHG intensity requirements are set as a percentage reduction. The required percentage reduction starts at 2% in 2025 and then increases every five years as indicated in the figures below:
The regulation contains provisions for granting credits for vessels employing wind-assisted propulsion.
With its vision to steadily build its sail-powered fleet and broaden its decarbonized transportation service, TOWT has already worked its schedule and signed customer agreements into 2026 whereby Quebec City will also figure in the voyages to and from Le Havre and to and from Santa Marta. “We offer affordable rates and can guarantee prices over several years because we’re not subject to the Bunker Adjustment Factor that comes into play with fluctuating fuel prices.”
TOWT already has long-term contracts to deliver cocoa beans, coffee, sugar, jam and other products. “In addition to the emissions-free transportation, we’re selling the actual vessel environment because some of these products do much better always being one or two degrees within sea temperature in our boats rather than overheating – even toasting – in containers under the sun and then overly cooling at night,” he adds. “We’re also able to naturally vent the cargo hold about 30 times per hour, which is another way to prevent any sort of food ripening or beverage fermentation.”
While primarily a pallet-carrier, the vessel also has room to accommodate barrels that can certifiably age a wine or cognac during its delivery. “We can provide the temperatures for the barrels throughout the voyage on an hourly basis,” Le Grand says.
The second vessel, Artemis, is currently being completed in Vietnam and is scheduled to sail to France after its sea trials this summer. Le Grand acknowledges that the volume carried by each TOWT vessel is small in comparison to what other ships carry but adds:
These vessels offer an immediate decarbonization solution that won’t have any unforeseen consequences and it can be extensively multiplied to take advantage of the wind’s unlimited availability to make a significant difference in the process of turning a problem into opportunities...
TOWT, in images
Watch TOWT’s sail-powered cargo ship design in 3D animation.
See Anemos enter the water.
Go virtually aboard the Artemis as it nears completion in Vietnam.