Video: Advanced sail-power pioneered by young French company
Ambitious new French project aims to develop the world’s first sailing boxship.
Zéphyr & Borée, a young and ambitious French company specialising in low-emission transport, has started a new project to develop the world’s first sail-powered container ship.
Based in Nantes, the company is working on a new 1,830 teu design that will carry eight wing-sails. The Meltem will be 185m long and it is estimated the new vessel will cut emissions on a transatlantic journey by 80%, at a speed of 11 knots.
The design team face a technically complex design challenge as deck loading, loading operations, and forward visibility all need to be taken into consideration.
The company plans to deliver the Meltem by the end of 2022 to operators Alizés, a joint venture of Zephyr et Borée and Jifmar Offshore Services.
Zéphyr & Borée also developed the sail-driven Canopée, the ship that will carry Ariane 6 rockets from Europe to Kourou in French Guyana. The Canopée can be seen below.
