Please select your home edition
Edition
Vetus-Maxwell 2021 v2 LEADERBOARD

A Green Beginning - Sailing Ship to Transport Wine

by Peter Allen/Sail-World Cruising on 18 Mar 2008
Belem in action SW
Sail-World Cruising's Green Prize of the Month goes to Frenchman Frederic Albert, who has started using a 19th century sailing vessel to transport wine from Bordeaux to Dublin to reduce carbon emissions, and on the return journey the three masted barque will carry crushed glass.

This month 60,000 bottles from Languedoc will be shipped in the19th Century barque Belem, saving 18,375lb of carbon.


Belem, launched in 1896 and the last French merchant sailing vessel to be built, will sail into Dublin following a four day voyage from Bordeaux. The wines will be delivered to Bordeaux by barge using the Canal du Midi and Canal du Garonne, which run across southern France from Sète in the east, via Béziers in Languedoc. Each bottle - 60,000 in the first shipment - will be labelled: 'Carried by sailing ship, a better deal for the planet.' Although the whole process will take up to a week longer than a flight, it is estimated to save 4.9oz of carbon per bottle.

The 170ft Belem, which was first used to transport chocolate from South America and is named after the Brazilian port, is the first of seven planned to be working by 2013. Seven private investors have contributed 70 per cent of the business's start-up costs of £40m. Bank loans have provided the rest.

Frederic Albert, founder of the shipping company Compagnie de Transport Maritime à la Voile (CTMV), said: 'My idea was to do something for the planet and something for the wines of Languedoc. One of my grandfathers was a wine-maker and one was a sailor.' Albert said some 250 producers in Languedoc alone were keen to use his ships.


'There is a lot of interest in green investments in France,' said Albert. Ships will return to France with an equivalent tonnage of crushed glass for recycling into wine bottles at factories in Bordeaux and Béziers. Despite the time involved in transporting it, the wine should also remain relatively cheap, at between €7 and €20 a bottle.

Delivery times to Ireland and Britain had been calculated using historic charts. 'We had someone who studied a century of weather conditions to work them out,' he said.

Albert said his fleet would also be used for advertising in the ports they sailed to. He said: 'There will be tastings on board. The Belem can hold around 100 guests, so there will be plenty of room for importers to promote their wines.'

CTMVs second boat, which cost six million euros (8.4 million dollars) to build and is as yet unnamed, will also be launched in March this year. It will measure 52 metres and have 1,000 square metres of sails and a top speed of 14 knots.

With a total of seven ships the investment in the project looks set to be about 40 to 50 million euros. Albert would not confirm the exact investment figure, but said he now has seven private investors and the financing is 70 percent private capital and 30 percent bank loans.

'There is a lot of interest in green investments in France,' he said.

Future ports of call, with Bordeaux as the regular departure point, will include Bristol or Manchester in England, Gothenburg in Sweden, Copenhagen in Denmark, and other towns in Scandinavia.

The next delivery after Dublin, however, is Canada. 'The Canadians want us to come there in June,' said Albert, 'They have already ordered 20,000 bottles, but I think there will be more,'

SCIBS 2025Maritimo 2023 S600 FOOTERBoat Books Australia FOOTER

Related Articles

New Maxi Edmond de Rothschild gears towards flight
The future 32-metre giant is gradually taking shape, a day at a time In December 2023, Ariane de Rothschild officially announced the start of construction for a new oceanic maxi-trimaran designed to venture ever further along the path towards offshore flight initiated by her predecessor, Gitana 17.
Posted on 5 May
iQFOiL Youth & Junior International Games Preview
Over 200 athletes from 23 nations gather at Lake Garda following a high-level Coppa Italia opener The international iQFOiL Class is surging into the 2025 season with record participation and growing global engagement.
Posted on 5 May
An evening honouring the Vendée Globe heroes
On Saturday, May 10, Les Sables d'Olonne will once again come alive to celebrate On Saturday, May 10, Les Sables d'Olonne will once again come alive to celebrate the epic journey of the Vendée Globe and pay tribute to the skippers of the 2024 edition, during a spectacular evening filled with emotion and festivity.
Posted on 5 May
IMA challenges resume with Sandberg PalmaVela
The event has traditionally started the Mediterranean maxi yacht racing season There was huge anticipation from within the maxi community with Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones' new Verdier 100 Magic Carpet E making her debut at Sandberg PalmaVela that concluded yesterday.
Posted on 5 May
Monnin Victorious in 60th Congressional Cup
Defeating defending champion Chris Poole 3-2 in a closely contested final Switzerland's Eric Monnin and his Capvis Swiss Match Racing Team of Ute Monnin Wagner, Mathieu Renault, Jean-Claude Monnin, Simon Brügger, Julien Falxa, and Maxime Mesnil clinched a long awaited win of the 60th Anniversary Congressional Cup on Sunday.
Posted on 5 May
For the love of slightly larger, even faster boats
Bring it on. No chicken chutes allowed. Celestial, the newest Cape 31 in Oz is up and racing Thank you. You have let For the love of small, fast boats run before the breeze like a superlight planning hull under way too big a kite, with immense sheep in the paddock, and the Sailing Master grasping the flare gun in his pocket... No chicken chutes.
Posted on 4 May
21st Sandberg PalmaVela overall
A breezy finale in the Bay of Palma A thrilling and intense final day at Sandberg PalmaVela was enjoyed with choppy seas and wind conditions ranging from gentle airs to gusts of up to 23 knots. Several broken masts are evidence how tough the day was for some.
Posted on 4 May
2025 ILCA 6 Women's & ILCA 7 Men's Worlds Preview
The eyes of the sailing world will turn to Qingdao, China The eyes of the sailing world will turn to Qingdao, China, from 10-17 May 2025, as the city prepares to host the 2025 ILCA 6 Women's and ILCA 7 Men's World Championships.
Posted on 4 May
52 SUPER SERIES Saint-Tropez Cup overall
World Champions Gladiator score 52 SUPER SERIES season opening win. Britain's Tony Langley and his world champion crew secured overall victory at the first regatta of the five event 2025 52 SUPER SERIES season, the 52 SUPER SERIES Saint Tropez Sailing Week.
Posted on 4 May
Transat Paprec Day 15
As the final sprint begins, reflecting on the unique journeys and experiences Among the 19 duos who set off from Concarneau, 8 are international teams, including 5 from the UK.
Posted on 4 May