Neoliner Origin, the ‘world’s first’ sailing RoRo vessel, is finally here

“The world’s first-ever” commercial sailing roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessel, the Neoliner Origin, which was built for French shipping player Neoline by the Turkish RMK Marine shipyard, has officially joined its owner’s fleet.

According to French classification society Bureau Veritas (BV), having completed the final stage of sea trials, the 136-meter-long and 24.2-meter-wide sailing cargo ship was handed over to its owner on September 26.

It then embarked on a formal maiden journey to its home port of Saint-Nazaire from the Turkish shipyard on September 29. On the way to Saint-Nazaire, Neoliner Origin made a stopover in Bastia for its very first loading operation, Neoline shared in a social media post.

As informed, Neoline officially inaugurated the wind-powered newbuilding on October 13 in Nantes, with the unit’s first-ever voyage—from Montoir-de-Bretagne to Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon and Baltimore—planned for October 16.

Against the backdrop of its arrival in France, on October 13, classification society Bureau Veritas revealed that it had formally classed Neoline’s latest addition to the roster, validating the environmental potential of the technological solutions that have been fitted onto the vessel.

As Offshore Energy reported earlier, Neoliner Origin hit the water for the first time at the very end of January this year. The construction of the newbuilding commenced at the beginning of November 2023, while a keel laying ceremony was held in February 2024.

The France-flagged unit was equipped with two 76-meter-high foldable Solidsail carbon masts developed by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, reportedly supporting nearly 3,000 square meters of rigid sails.

Representatives from BV have further elaborated that the sailing ship offers 1,200 linear meters of cargo space—equivalent to 265 TEU—with a maximum cargo weight capacity of 5,300 tons. As divulged, the vessel can also accommodate 12 passengers in six double cabins.

Owing to the technology equipped on the ship, Neoliner Origin is expected to slash greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 90% on an ocean crossing, as well as nearly completely eliminate sulfur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx).

Just weeks before the handover, namely at the beginning of September 2025, the ship had wrapped up its second sea trials.