A start-up and the navigator François Gabart create the first cargo trimaran

This trimaran will be around sixty metres long and should deliver its first goods across the Atlantic in 2026.

The French start-up Vela is launching the construction of its first cargo trimaran. Among the five partners, the navigator François Gabart. Invited to franceinfo on Tuesday, September 24, he discusses the importance of his practice during offshore races to reflect on how “better capture the wind and use this energy to transport goods”.

The cargo trimaran will be 67 m long, 61 m high, with three sails, an aluminum hull and a carbon mast. It will be able to carry 600 pallets, the equivalent of 51 containers. The specifications are different from those of a racing boat. “We transport goods, we have to transport almost 500 tons of goods by boat”explains the skipper.

The goal of the start-up is to be “effective” and of“to have a boat capable of going fast only with wind energy”The trimaran should be able to cross the Atlantic in less than fifteen days. “We will focus on a line between Europe and the United States”explains François Gabart. For the moment, one boat will be built, but four more are planned later “to offer our customers frequency with a weekly departure and volume”. Its manufacture is ensured by an Australian manufacturer in the Philippines. The start of the construction site is announced for 2025 with a first delivery in 2026.

The prices of the products transported on this trimaran will be “more expensive than conventional shipping” but “We will also be much cheaper than in the air”evokes François Gabart. “We are decarbonizing massively, we have to ask ourselves the question of the price of decarbonization and we are trying to optimize these two factors to have a very good quality of services”he adds. This decarbonized means of transport will be made up of 300 m² photovoltaic panels, two hydro turbines, enough to reduce 96% of the environmental impact of the ship compared to a conventional container ship.

The trimaran will go at the same average speed as a conventional cargo ship but “We hope to optimize the time on land, before and after delivery, because we are dealing with smaller volumes”says the navigator. For the moment, the home port of the start-up and the boat is in Bayonne. “We are working with the Normandy and Nouvelle-Aquitaine regions to define the right place for loading and unloading”he explains before specifying that “The port of Honfleur is interesting for us, as are La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Bayonne. We want to find the most suitable, quickest and least carbon-impacting loading location.”.