Transatlantic trimaran

Vela Transport aims to provide sailing transport between France and the US. Their first large trimaran will be operational by the end of 2026, and by 2028 they hope to have five ships in service.

At Vela, they believe that the only way to really reduce impact is to measure it accurately and comprehensively. Vela claims that the carbon impact of its ships reduces as much as 96%, compared to conventional container ships on the transatlantic route. Compared to air cargo, the trimaran saves as much as 99%. Vela aims to transport high-value goods such as clothing, cosmetics and medicines. The average speed should be 14 knots so that the crossing can be done in plusminus 15 days, including loading and unloading. The carrying capacity is 410 tonnes or 600 pallets. Renowned agency VPLP drew the design. As with Michelin’s wingsail (Michel Desjoyeaux), Vela has brought on board one of France’s great sailing heroes: François Gabart, the first sailor to get under 80 days in a round-the-world Vendée Globe circumnavigation. He is also part of the team at MerConcept, the agency that provides routing for French ocean races.

Editor’s note

We previously saw a lot of sailcargo based on nautical heritage designs or variants of ‘normal’ merchant ships with a mast; the Vela concept may be – for some of the sailing cargo – the solution for fast sailing voyages. Unsurprisingly, again, this news comes from France. After all, in the Route du Rum and the Vendée Globe, large trimarans call the shots. Your editor, for fun, sails a (small) trimaran, but also brought two ORMA trimarans from Guadeloupe to Brest. That experience does show that there are design limitations for these vessels. A multihull must be built as light as possible to have enough room for payload. And the strength must be sufficient to remain in one piece at high speeds during the violence of a lumpy ocean. In addition, skipper and crew must have sufficient knowledge and skills for sailing these vessels. The French call the captains of these fast tri’s not ‘skipper or captain’, but ‘pilot’. With a top speed of more than 30 knots and an average of 14 knots, an apt description.

Source and image: Vela Transport

Windassist sponsor