A cargo trimaran aims to deliver French wines and spirits to the USA in a fortnight

he cargo trimaran Vela 1 has the wind in its sails. In the second half of 2025, it will start its return trips between ports in France (Bayonne, Honfleur, La Rochelle…) and New Jersey in the United States. The start-up Vela, which was founded in Bayonne in 2022, promises a crossing time of two weeks (“faster than a conventional cargo ship”) and has already signed up to ship top Bordeaux and Burgundy wines, Champagnes and Cognacs across the Atlantic. It will also be shipping wines for a forwarding agent specialising in wine and New York importers, stresses Vela co-founder and CEO Pierre-Arnaud Vallon. The other co-founders are four entrepreneurs including the French professional offshore yacht racer François Gabart.

Vela says it can transport 600 pallets weighing 360 tonnes “quickly, reliably and safely” and stresses the decarbonisation aspect of the sailing trip. The Lifecycle Analysis issued by the company concludes that one journey generates 5 times fewer emissions than a container ship, with an 80% reduction across the lifespan of a ship (building, operation and end-of-life). Currently, Vela 1 is at the 3-D modelling stage and building work is due to begin in 2024 after two years of R&D. After it goes into operation in the second half of 2025, four other ships will join the cargo trimaran by 2028 so that one sailing ship can leave per week.