''Canopée'' () is a French sail-assisted freighter ship. Laid down in 2019 and launched in 2022, it is designed specifically to transport elements of the

Ariane 6 Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch system developed for the European Space Agency (ESA) and manufactured by a consortium of European companies, led by the prime contractor ArianeGroup. As part of the Ariane rocket family, it is operate ...

rocket from European ports to the

Guiana Space Centre The Guiana Space Centre (; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas region of France in South America. Kourou is located approxim ...

Kourou Kourou (; ) is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. Kourou is famous for being the location of the Guiana Space Centre, the main spaceport of France and the European Space Agency (ESA). It ...

, South America. It made its first trans-Atlantic crossing in December 2022. The ship is owned by Jifmar Guyane, designed by

VPLP Design VPLP Design (Van Peteghem Lauriot-Prévost) is a French-based naval architectural firm founded by Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prévost, responsible for designing some of the world's most innovative racing boats. Their designs presently ...

, and was constructed by Partner Stocznia shipyard in

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

, Poland, and Neptune marine, Netherlands. Oceanwings sails are designed, engineered and manufactured by OceanWings (previously Ayro) in

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

France.

Novel sail technology

The ship is equipped with four Oceanwings. Oceanwings are articulated and automated

sail A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may b ...

s of 363m² each. The cargo ship has a diesel engine and the wind-powered Oceanwings can cut fuel consumption of the engine in half. The Canopée is considered a pioneer in the energy transition of

maritime transport Maritime transport (or ocean transport) or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by watercraft has been widely used throughout recorded history, as it pr ...

External links

OceanWings company website

References

{{merchantship-stub 2022 ships Ro-ro ships Ships of France ArianeGroup European Space Agency