Grain de Sail plans to build 200 TEU pure sail containership

Image: Grain de Sail

Wind-assisted propulsion systems (WAPS) have been a lot in the news lately as more owners add hard sails or rotors to ships to meet major charterers’ needs to decarbonize. French coffee roaster and chocolatier Grain de Sail, however is going for what wind propulsion enthusiasts would consider the real deal — a pure sail containership. It has announced plans to construct its third vessel, the Grain de Sail III. It will operate completely under sail (except for port and channel maneuvers),

The 360-foot pure sail containership, slated for launch in 2027, will be capable of transporting approximately 200 TEU of containers with a maximum cargo capacity of 3,000 tonnes and crossing the Atlantic in around 13 days.

“With Grain de Sail III, we are displaying our ambitions and strengthening our leadership in the decarbonized maritime transport segment,” said Oliver Barreau, co-founder and president of Grain de Sail. “To make wind-powered transport accessible, we need to change scale, and that’s what we’re about to do with a pure sailing containership.”

Grain de Sail III‘s three masts will carry 4,000 square meters of sails. Its maximum air draft of 62.5 meters will allow it to pass under bridges along major maritime routes (Verrazzano Bridge, Panama Canal, etc.). Its retractable daggerboards will ensure good upwind performance while limiting its draft at the dock. The goal is to design a near-passive vessel through strong insulation.

The company says that “powerful hydrogenation technologies already developed for cargo sailing ships by Grain de Sail will ensure autonomous and decarbonized production of onboard energy” but doesn’t go into much details on what those technologies are.

As with Grain de Sail II, a wood pellet boiler will provide heating and hot water for the crew’s comfort.

The company has operated a fleet of cargo sailing ships with very low carbon emissions (at least -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 shipper clients. Through its food production units, maritime operations, and freight forwarding services, Grain de Sail Group aims to gradually expand its commercial presence in the U.S.A. and then Europe in the coffee and chocolate sectors, while simultaneously growing its fleet of vessels to strengthen low-carbon maritime logistics across the Atlantic between Europe and the U.S.