Good news for carbon-conscious travellers as the largest wind-powered cargo ship is now accepting passengers.
According to CNN, the Artemis, which is described as the world’s largest cargo ship with sails, docked in New York after its 32-day test run from the port of Les Havre in northern France.
After arriving in New York earlier this week, the wind-powered cargo ship unloaded around 1,000 tonnes of French liqueur, champagne, Vilebrequin swimsuits, Bonne Maman jam, and four passengers.
After a test run, the French startup TransOceanic Wind Transport (TOWT) now opened up cabins in its cargo ships that were inaugurated in 2024, allowing people to stay in cargo and travel across the Atlantic in a climate-friendly way.
TOWT’s CEO, Guillaume Le Grand, while comparing ship with aeroplane emissions, said, “Our carbon footprint is between five and 10 kilos (per person), compared to around a tonne of CO2 if you get a plane (from Paris to New York).”
Referring to a Swedish activist's 2019 voyage from the UK to New York to attend a UN climate conference, he jokingly added, “If you want to go to America and don’t want to emit any carbon emissions, two months ago, you had to swim or take a small sailboat like Greta Thunberg did. Now, with us, you can come with your family and stay in really decent cabins.”
The cargo ship, made with 52-meter-tall (170 feet) carbon masts and a whopping 2,100 square meters (23,000 square feet) of sail surface, travels at an average of 11 nautical miles per hour, and sometimes, when the winds are in favour, the speed could reach as high as 17.
Notably, these special ships reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by more than 90% less pollution than regular cargo ships that use diesel fuel.
