Posted on October 12, 2026
Exclusive DredgeWire Tour and Interview
By Peter Bowe
All photographs by DredgeWire or WTCI unless otherwise credited.
The World Trade Center Institute of Baltimore (WTCI) invited DredgeWire Publisher Peter Bowe for a unique opportunity to tour a sail-powered cargo ship calling on the Port of Baltimore.
French shipping startup NEOLINE is turning a longstanding maritime ambition into reality: carrying commercial freight across the Atlantic Ocean using wind as the primary source of propulsion. Its first vessel, Neoliner Origin, combines modern sailing technology with the cargo flexibility of a roll-on/roll-off ship, serving customers seeking lower-emission transportation between Europe and North America while maintaining a reliable sailing schedule.
NEOLINE’s advertised monthly network connects Montoir–Saint-Nazaire, Zeebrugge, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Baltimore and Halifax. Zeebrugge brings access to a major European market for vehicles and rolling equipment, while Baltimore provides a gateway to the Mid-Atlantic region.
From Maritime Ambition to Commercial Service
Based in Nantes, France, NEOLINE traces its beginnings to 2011, when nine maritime professionals formed an association around an idea championed by French merchant navy captain Michel Péry. Four years of preliminary studies and design work led to the company’s incorporation in 2015, with Péry as chairman and Jean Zanuttini as managing director. Their goal was to restore sail power to a significant role in merchant shipping.
Their vision extends beyond building one unusual ship. NEOLINE intends to demonstrate that modern sailing cargo vessels can support dependable freight services, ultimately justifying a larger fleet. Its approach combines moderate operating speeds, weather routing and auxiliary propulsion to reconcile fuel savings with customers’ delivery requirements.
Winning commitments from shippers was essential. Renault, Beneteau, Manitou, Hennessy, Clarins, Rémy Cointreau and Longchamp supported the project before the vessel existed. Those early relationships helped establish a commercial case for transporting vehicles, boats, machinery, consumer products and other freight under sail.
Commercial partnerships have subsequently broadened the service. An April 2026 agreement enabled CMA CGM to book space for its customers aboard Neoliner Origin.
DredgeWire observed Beneteau yachts and bright red Manitou machinery being offloaded by Ports America in Baltimore.
Manitou machinery unloaded at Baltimore.
Financing and Building the First Ship
Financing the project was, not surprisingly, quite complex. It required a combination of private investment, public support and bank funding. When financial closing was announced in January 2023, the first vessel’s budget exceeded €60 million.
Equity backers included CMA CGM, ADEME Investissement, NEOLINE Développement, Corsica Ferries and Louis Hardy SAS of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, one of the principal ports served.
Banque des Territoires supplied €3.8 million in bond financing, while the Pays de la Loire region provided a €1.3 million repayable advance. CIC arranged bank financing through a tax lease backed by a Bpifrance Assurance Export guarantee. [Source: neoline.eu]
NEOLINE chose RMK Marine in Tuzla, Turkey, to build the first ship. Keel laying took place in November 2023, and the vessel was launched in January 2025. It departed Montoir-de-Bretagne on October 16, 2025, for its maiden transatlantic voyage, initially heading toward Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon and Baltimore. [Source: neoline.eu; complete reference to be added]
Cargo Capacity and Loading
Neoliner Origin is 136 meters long—about 450 feet—and 24 meters wide. Its deadweight of 6,300 tons includes cargo, fuel, supplies and other carried loads. The original design also specified capacity for 265 twenty-foot-equivalent containers. [Source: neoline.eu; complete reference to be added]
The vessel can handle up to 400 cars, including a dedicated car level.
Car secured on the dedicated vehicle deck.
A 12-meter-wide stern roll-on/roll-off ramp permits horizontal loading into protected cargo spaces. NEOLINE advertises the ability to handle individual oversized loads up to 9.8 meters high and 200 tons without lifting.
Alongside rolling cargo, the ship can accommodate standard and refrigerated containers and specialized equipment for out-of-gauge shipments.
Ro/Ro ramp at the stern of Neoliner Origin.
Ingenious Rotating and Folding Masts
The ship’s most distinctive features are two folding carbon masts supporting a 3,000-square-meter sail plan. Each mast supports a small jib as well as a sectionalized folding mainsail. The SolidSail rig was developed by Chantiers de l’Atlantique.
The masts can rotate through 360 degrees, allowing the sails to be raised or lowered regardless of the ship’s direction. This capability is essential because raising or lowering the sails must be done with minimal load on the sails and masts. Whereas a regular sailboat can change course to head into the wind, Neoliner Origin cannot readily adjust course, so it adjusts the sail angle.
Rotating mast base showing one of two drive gears.
Air draft—the vessel’s height above the waterline—is 88.2 meters with the rigs upright, dropping to 42 meters when folded to permit passage beneath bridges and improve port access.
Retractable anti-drift fins help resist sideways movement under sail. Draft ranges from 5.5 meters in harbor with the fins retracted to 14 meters offshore.
The Height Compromise
As a sailing vessel, Neoliner Origin faces another interesting challenge. It needs to pass beneath bridges along its route, such as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge near Baltimore.
While folding masts solve much of that problem, bridge clearance also limits the height of the ship’s fixed structure. The vessel has just three decks, compared with more in conventional cargo ships.
Close-up of a folded mast and Wider view of the folded masts.
More Than 16 Knots Under Sail
Laurent Corbel, NEOLINE’s U.S. agent, conducted the tour. He told us that the ship had recently achieved a maximum speed of more than 16 knots under sail alone, traveling northeast from Baltimore in the Atlantic.
The ship can sail in winds of up to 35 knots, or about 40 mph. Its crew of 15 monitors weather and wind conditions to determine the most favorable routing, and the team has recently added one person whose expertise is sailing.
Auxiliary diesel-electric power of 4,000 kilowatts provides backup propulsion and supports schedule reliability when wind conditions are unfavorable. Commercial speed is 11 knots, with a maximum motor speed of 14 knots. So sail can actually be faster than power!
NEOLINE targets fuel savings exceeding 80% against a comparable conventional vessel operating at 15 knots. Early operating results offer evidence of the concept’s potential: on the speed record-setting Baltimore–Halifax leg under sail, the company calculated fuel savings of 78% against a modeled motor-only vessel at the same commercial speed.
Those figures describe one voyage segment rather than a guaranteed annual result. The broader test will be sustaining those benefits across changing weather, cargo loads and commercial schedules.
Passengers Welcome Aboard
Beyond its crew accommodation, the ship has room for 12 passengers in six double cabins, all with balconies. The cabins are spacious, with separate lounges as well.
Passengers in Baltimore told DredgeWire that the food was excellent—perhaps not a surprise on a French vessel! Corbel said passenger bookings were sold out for the next several months, at prices of about $300 per day for a two-week passage.
Passenger cabin with lounge and balcony.
Making the Vision a Reality
Challenges remain. During a recent sailing, the ship’s forward mainsail experienced technical difficulties that will require modifications, now planned.
As a sailor myself, I very much appreciate the magnitude of the challenges associated with this vision, but I can’t help being impressed by what NEOLINE has done so far in making it a reality.
