Yachting Art Magazine

TOWT (TransOceanic Wind Transport) is taking a further step in the development of decarbonised maritime freight with the launch of the Esperança Line, a regular France–Brazil service operated exclusively under sail. Scheduled to enter service from March 2026, this new transatlantic route builds on two years of successful pilot operations and growing demand from shippers for logistics solutions that are reliable, efficient and extremely low in carbon intensity.

Founded in France in the early 2010s, TOWT has gradually established itself as one of the pioneers of sail-powered commercial shipping applied to international trade. Initially focused on occasional routes and niche cargo flows, the company has progressively structured a comprehensive logistics offering, integrating chartering, port operations and cargo tracking. The development of its fleet of modern sail-propelled cargo vessels has enabled it to move from an experimental approach to a commercial line model capable of meeting the operational standards of European and international shippers.

Campaigns conducted in 2024 and 2025 between Europe and South America played a decisive role in the creation of the Esperança Line. According to the shipowner, these operations confirmed the maturity of its sail-powered transport model over intercontinental distances. Participating shippers highlighted the regularity of rotations, the overall reliability of operations and the satisfactory preservation of transported goods.

This feedback formed the basis for structuring a scheduled service aligned with international trade standards in terms of transit times and service quality. “Feedback from our shippers in 2024 and 2025 was decisive. It enabled us to build a stable, high-performance offer aligned with the operational requirements of conventional shipping, while drastically reducing carbon footprint,” explains Karl Sement, Chief Executive Officer of TOWT.

The choice of Brazil as the primary destination for this new line reflects both economic and environmental considerations. In an international context marked by geopolitical tensions and questions surrounding certain traditional maritime routes, the country is seen as a stable trading partner with a dynamic economy and strong exchanges with Europe.

For TOWT, Brazil also represents a particularly relevant market for high value-added agricultural and agri-food sectors, such as coffee and cachaça, where traceability and carbon accounting are becoming increasingly central. Guillaume Le Grand, President of TOWT, summarises the strategy: “Brazil is the country where our clients ask us to source higher-quality coffee with impeccable carbon credentials. […] It is the green country, where TOWT will now offer the most decarbonised transport in the world.”

Local partnerships developed by TOWT rely on established port and logistics operators in order to ensure smooth operations on both the European and Brazilian sides.

The Esperança Line has been designed to integrate seamlessly into existing supply chains. At launch, it will operate on a monthly frequency between France and Brazil, with gradual scaling planned. French ports of call will include Le Havre and Fécamp, while Brazilian stopovers are scheduled for Santos and São Sebastião.

One of the key points emphasised by TOWT is the equivalence of door-to-door transit times with conventional maritime transport. Thanks to optimised upstream and downstream logistics organisation, shippers can integrate a zero-carbon solution without altering their schedules or commitments to end customers. The line is also configured to carry pallets and commercial consignments, in line with the volumes typically handled in transatlantic trade.

Beyond the purely logistical dimension, the Esperança Line represents a strategic lever for brands engaged in corporate social and environmental responsibility initiatives. Fully sail-powered maritime transport enables measurable reductions in freight-related emissions while providing a communication asset that can be directly leveraged within CSR and CSRD frameworks.

TOWT notably relies on the ANEMOS label, which links each transported product to a logbook documenting the crossing and its carbon impact. This approach aims to make the contribution of transport to emissions reduction visible all the way to the end consumer. In 2025, the company reported carbon intensity levels as low as 1.5 g of CO₂ per tonne-kilometre, positioning the solution among the most decarbonised currently available in maritime freight.

With the Esperança Line, TOWT intends to take a further step towards normalising sail-powered shipping, moving it from the status of an innovative alternative to that of a regular, competitive logistics solution fully integrated into trade flows between Europe and South America.