The vessels will be 260 feet in length and 200 feet high. At sea, the wind is abundant and predictable, meaning that modern sail offers the best yields to move large hulls over long distances, while the conventional shipping industry is struggling to actually decarbonise. With a group of 30 cargo owners committed onboard, TOWT is aiming at disrupting this industry, on the eve of a merchant revolution.
Just over the past year, TOWT has collected hundreds of million euros in transport orders from 30 companies such as Cémoi (cocoa), Belco (coffee), Ethic Drinks (wine), Longueteau (wine), Drappier (champagne), Boisson Delame (wine) and Molienda Real (raw sugar). Most cargo-owners, some of them well-known, are not yet publicly disclosed.
However, TOWT is now able to unveil the main maritime routes open for its clients as early as the end of 2022, for an annual transport capacity of about 25,000 tonnes. Alongside with cargo, TOWT offers a service of dynamic maturation at the sea providing wine and spirits with a unique taste fostered by the combined action of waves, sea air and slow temperature changes.
New York will be pivotal in TOWT's American operations. Each route is detailed below:
All products shipped on TOWT account are labelled ANEMOS. This label ensures consumers the products they buy are shipped onboard sailing ships. Besides, it provides them with the opportunity to discover online the route of the ship, pictures taken during the journey, weather data, carbon reduction, thus offering an immersive experience.
The project also offers capacity for 250 passengers per year sailing to iconic destinations. TOWT is launching pre-registrations for passengers to sail along to and from Europe, America, or Africa aboard its carbon-free cargo ships. The new sailing cargo ships of TOWT - Transport à la voile will be able to carry 12 passengers per crossing.
Passengers aboard TOWT sailing cargo ships will be able to enjoy an extraordinary ‘slow travel’ experience. Embarked for crossings from two (Le Havre - New York) to several weeks, on silent vessels which respect the environment and underwater fauna, they will be in direct interaction with a professional and passionate crew of seven sailors plus two or three cadets.
With a front row seat overlooking port manoeuvres, loading and unloading of cargoes of cocoa, wine and spirits, coffee, tea, cocoa, among other, they will benefit from comfortable cabins and common spaces with services particularly adapted to this long maritime adventure: lounge, library, sun deck, etc.
“We are delighted to announce to the public that soon four vessels will be sailing four times each, that is to say 16 journeys per year to New York, to deliver in a carbon-free manner hundreds of thousands of European goods ranging from wine and spirits, jams, textile, cosmetics or more industrial cargoes” said Guillaume Le Grand, CEO of TOWT. “We also hope to announce in the forthcoming months the best US-made goods shipped in a zero-carbon way on the Westbound journey. The shipping, in a quite fuel-centric approach, struggles to offer really decarbonised solutions. There is one reason: you can't cheat with energy. And a ship is extremely energy-intensive. Wind is reliable, abundant, and can now be very well predicted; and our sailing ships will be able to make the most of it. Moreover, the ANEMOS label allows the brands to stamp and document in full transparency the journey of their goods, thus their origin. In times where coffee, cacao or champagne (for instance) consumptions are being drastically challenged, you need to lay the emphasis on the quality, the origin, the "terroir": what best way than to value the transport, which can also be decarbonised, if you want to talk about the coffee mountain, or the vineyard?”
For additional information:
