TOWT Takes Delivery of First of Eight High-Tech Sail Cargo Vessels

French shipbuilder Piriou has delivered a novel sailing cargo ship for TransOceanic Wind Transport (TOWT), which plans to scale up its sail-powered transatlantic freight service.

The 266-foot vessel - named Anemos - is the first in a series of eight for TOWT. The small ship took two years to build, and it draws on advanced sail technology from ocean racing. Systems from ocean racing have inspired many of the maritime industry's most novel decarbonization ideas, like modular wing sales or the advanced hydrofoils on Artemis Technologies' workboats and ferries. 

Anemos benefits from French expertise in this demanding field: multiple French manufacturers and designers contributed to the ship's design, said Piriou. The hull was built at Piriou's Romania yard, then transferred to Concarneau, France for outfitting. 

All images courtesy TOWT / Piriou

Compared to a conventional boxship on the transatlantic westbound route, Anemos will dramatically reduce CO2 emissions per ton transported, according to TOWT - potentially by as much as 99 percent. SOx, NOx and methane emissions will also fall to near-zero. 

TOWT has more than a decade of experience in sail cargo operations, and has chartered 20 different vessels over the years. With its own fleet of eight newbuilds, it hopes to scale up to an industrial level. By 2025, the company plans to save 9,600 tons of CO2 emissions per year and move about 70,000 tonnes of cargo annually.