Artist’s impression of a Vela trimaran which will be able to carry 560 pallets, i.e. a weight of more than 400 tonnes. Vela
DECRYPTION – The start-up of the winner of the Vendée Globe, Vela, wants to raise ten million euros by the end of 2023. Enough to equip its first 65-meter sailing cargo ships to transport goods between France and the United States .
Bayonne
“We are inspired by offshore racing to change maritime mobility”ures François Gabart. The winner of the Vendée Globe, holder of the solo round the world record, embarked on the entrepreneurial race by co-founding the company Vela in 2022. With his partners Pierre-Arnaud Vallon, Thibault Charles, Michaël Fernandez Ferri and Pascal Galacteros, he is convinced that the transport of goods by the force of the wind will prevail. For ecological reasons first: transport, 90% of which is carried out by the oceans, represents 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Then for economic reasons: oil prices are structurally on the rise while wind energy is free.
Shipowners such as Bolloré Logistics and CMA CGM (the second is in the process of buying the first), as well as an armada of start-ups, including Beyond the Sea, Wisamo (spin-off from Michelin), Seawing (spin-off from Airbus), Airseas or even Neoline, Towt and Les…
This article is for subscribers only. You have 78% left to discover.