Grain de Sail III under construction
Grain de Sail, a pioneer in decarbonised maritime logistics, has announced plans to build its third cargo sailboat, the Grain de Sail III.
This pure sail vessel will be a 360-foot container ship, scheduled for launch in 2027, capable of carrying about 200 20-foot equivalent units with a maximum cargo capacity of 3,000 metric tonnes and crossing the Atlantic in just about 13 days.
The vessel will achieve decarbonisation rates of more than 90%, thanks to three masts equipped with 4,000 sq ft of sails. Its maximum vertical clearance of 62.5 metres will allow it to pass under bridges along important maritime routes (Verrazzano Bridge, Panama Canal, etc.). Retractable daggerboards will ensure good performance downwind and limit the draft at the quay. The aim is to design a nearly energy-neutral ship through strong cold and thermal insulation. Powerful hydrogenation technologies, which Grain de Sail has already developed for its current cargo sailing vessels, provide autonomous and carbon-free energy production on board.
As with Grain de Sail II, a wood pellet boiler provides heating and hot water for crew comfort.
Grain de Sail’s operational experience gained from its first two cargo sailing vessels provides essential and unparalleled feedback in the industry. With Grain de Sail III, the company aims to provide concrete solutions based on its assessment of the needs and limitations of wind propulsion. The Grain de Sail III, registered under the French International Register (RIF), will meet the needs for wind-powered maritime transport that the company has identified over several years.
A coffee roaster and chocolatier since 2013, the company has also been operating a fleet of cargo sailing vessels with very low carbon emissions (minimum -90%) since 2020. The ships, registered under the French International Register (RIF), export French products to New York and import organic cocoa and green coffee from Latin America, as well as raw materials for other shipping customers. Through its food production units, maritime operations and freight forwarding services, Grain de Sail Group aims to gradually expand its commercial presence in the US and then Europe in the coffee and chocolate sector, while at the same time expanding its fleet of ships to strengthen low-carbon maritime logistics across the Atlantic between Europe and the US.
“With Grain de Sail III, we are demonstrating our ambitions and strengthening our leadership in the low-carbon maritime transport segment. To make wind-powered transport accessible, we need to change the scale and that is what we are going to do with a pure sailing container ship,” said Oliver Barreau, co-founder and president of Grain de Sail.
This article was previously published in Dwarstuig, the alumni magazine of the Enkhuizen Nautical College.
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