Tesco made a splash last autumn when it started to transport wine by barge along the Manchester ship canal. Now a French shipping company has taken the concept of ‘slow freight’ one step further, sending a sailing ship built in 1900 to carry a cargo of Languedoc’s finest to Ireland.
Laden with a 23-tonne cargo of 21,000 bottles, tall ship Kathleen & May dropped her anchor in Dublin on 25 July, after a weeklong crossing from Brest. It’s the first commercial trip chartered by the Compagnie de Transport Maritime à la Voile (CTMV), a freight business sending cargo solely by sailing boat. CTMV estimates the carbon dioxide emissions to be seven times less than a container ship plying the same route. The five vessels it uses aren’t completely emissions-free because of onboard generators that power navigational instruments and the use of diesel to manoeuvre the boat into port or down rivers. But the company is currently working on designs for a new ship based on traditional models, which should cut emissions by ten times. Over the next few years it’s aiming to run regular crossings to Europe and North America, stocking up with cargo for the way back too.
But doesn’t the fact that the journey takes up to twice as long as it would by conventional vessel set the company at a commercial disadvantage? Founder Frédéric Albert explains that his contract with importers recognises that the voyage varies from four to eight days depending on winds, and points out that wine sellers are keen to display the ‘Carried by sailing ship’ label on bottles. Of course customers pay a premium for this feel-good factor, as cargo delivered by CTMV is 15% more expensive than a traditional shipment. The company hopes to reduce this by 2010, with the introduction of a new ship that’s able to carry more freight.
Albert sees the enterprise as playing an educational role, too: “Consumers today don’t know how long things really need – how long wine takes to mature; how long an apple takes to grow. Slow freight is a pedagogic thing. If the ship’s late, it’s because it’s working with nature.” He adds that there are added benefits of sending the bottles by boat, too; the rolling of the waves apparently improves the flavour of the wine
– from forumforthefuture