The Port of Baltimore this week welcomed the first U.S. arrival of Neoline’s Neoliner Origin, the world’s first commercial wind-powered cargo vessel.
The container-roll on/roll off ship, which uses sail propulsion, will operate a monthly service between Saint Nazaire, France and Baltimore with stops along the way to Saint-Pierre et Miquelon and Halifax.
Built by RMK Marine Shipyard of Turkey, the Neoliner Origin is 446 feet long and can carry more than 5,300 tons of cars and farm and construction machinery or 265 twenty-foot containers on three decks.
The ship is powered by two 295-foot masts and 32,000 square feet of sails. The operator said wind will provide 60% to 70% of the vessel’s propulsion, backed by hybrid diesel-electric engines when needed. It typically sails at a reduced speed of 11 knots in order to conserve fuel and reduce emissions.
The vessel suffered some damage to one of its sails in rough weather two days after departure from France. Technicians were reportedly flown in to assist and the ship completed sailing to a delayed arrival in Maryland two weeks after it left France.
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