CMA CGM-backed Neoline Armateur has launched the long-awaited construction of its first sail-powered cargo vessel at the Turkish shipyard RMK Marine.
The 136 m-long vessel, with its concept name Neoliner, will be mainly propelled by its 3,000 sq m sail area, sporting two 76 m-high Solid Sail folding carbon masts and retractable anti-drift plans developed by Chantiers De l’Atlantique shipyard. The ship will offer a capacity of 1,200 lane m, 320 cars or 265 containers, representing up to 5,300 tons of goods.
With a total budget of more than €60m ($65m), the first Neoliner is supported and co-financed by French liner giant CMA CGM, together with ADEME Investissement, Neoline Développement, Corsica Ferries, Louis Hardy, the Banque des Territoires and the Pays de la Loire Region. The share of bank financing is provided by the Crédit Industriel et Commercial (CIC) and guaranteed by the Public Bank of Investment (BPI).
“The CMA CGM Group, which aims to achieve net zero carbon by 2050, has been fully involved for many years in developing projects and prototypes to accelerate the decarbonisation of the maritime sector. Given the importance of the challenges, we are convinced of the need to explore all options. Several technologies will have to coexist to build the decarbonised propulsion solutions of tomorrow. This is why the CMA CGM Group, thanks to its €1.5bn Fund for Energies, wanted to become a partner of Neoline, whose roro sailing transport project seems to us to be extremely promising,” said Emilie Espanet, head of the CMA CGM Fund for Energies.
Neoline had first targeted a 2021 launch for its ships, something it then pushed back to 2023 before further delaying the project for the first half of 2024. The vessel is now expected for delivery in 2025 and to be commissioned on the transatlantic pilot line between Saint Nazaire, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Baltimore and Halifax. French flagship companies, such as Renault, Beneteau Group, Manitou Group, Michelin, Jas Hennessy & Co, Clarins, Longchamp or Rémy Cointreau are among the first shippers of this new line between France and North America.
