Steel-cutting for RoRo sailing vessel

Twelve years in the making, the start of construction took place on 8 November at RMK Marine’s Tuzla shipyard in Turkey. The Neoliner, a 136m sail-powered RoRo cargo ship will operate a transatlantic rotation between the ports of Saint-Nazaire, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Baltimore and Halifax, departing every month from 2025.

“After several months of detailed studies carried out in full cooperation between the teams from RMK Marine, Mauric, Chantiers de l’Atlantique and Bureau Veritas, we are entering an exciting period which will see the ship being built day by day,” said Jean Zanuttini, president of Neoline.

“An idea that seemed crazy at the outset will come to life in the coming months.”

Supporting RMK Marine is a consortium of French partners including Chantiers de l’Atlantique, MAURIC, D-ICE Engineering, Fouré Lagadec, Engie Axima and Bio-sea UV.

Construction will be followed by key milestones, such as the laying of the first block in the first half of 2024, the launch of the ship scheduled for the end of 2024, and the commissioning in June 2025.

The 136m vessel features two 76m folding carbon Solidsail masts with a 3,000sqm sail area as well as retractable anti-drift plans and a weather routing system, helping save fuel and emissions by up to 90%.

The Neoliner will have a loading capacity of 1,200 linear metres (2.8m wide), or 265 teu, for a maximum cargo weight of 5,300 tonnes. The vessel can accommodate 12 people in six double cabins, in addition to the 13 crew members.