Zero-emission shipping start-up Veer Group will head to Germany to build the first wind-propelled container ships to cross oceans.
The Canadian firm has signed a letter of intent with Fosen Shipyard to develop, construct and purchase two wind-powered and hydrogen-assisted container vessels with cargo capacity of 150 teu.
“After a thorough, year-long tender process, our team is confident that Fosen is the best fit,” said Veer’s founder and CEO Danielle Southcott.
“Fosen is a highly capable shipyard and it is inspiring to work with leadership who see the value and potential of Veer’s vision.”
Carsten Stellamanns, CEO of Fosen, said he was “delighted and excited” that the yard had been selected to build the zero-emission container ships. Ten shipyards had expressed interest in the project.
“Together with Veer we are looking forward to creating a game-changing concept and bringing it to the waters,” he said.
Technical management for the two ships will be provided by Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement.
Veer said it is working with green-focused shipbroker FutureShips and is in discussions with “multiple” unnamed charterers for clean liner services beginning in 2027.
The shipowner-to-be has already secured an LoI from Gen2 Energy, a Norwegian producer of green hydrogen.
The design and construction of the two ships will be financed with €50m ($54m) from Amsterdam-based investment fund Prow Capital, with which Veer has signed an LoI.
Prow Capital’s €420m Green Shipping Fund provides shipowner loans for new and existing vessels or retrofits that comply with Prow’s own ESG — environmental, social and governance — criteria and that will lower vessel emissions in line with targets by the International Maritime Organization and the European Green Deal.
Veer is currently raising additional capital with a Series A investment round and is actively inviting investment.
The two vessels will be built to Veer’s own Design No1, which features what the company calls an “innovative” hull shape, DynaRig sails and hydrogen fuel cells for increased speed and range.
The design falls within the “absolute zero emissions” definition by the IMO and has received complete approval in principle from the American Bureau of Shipping class society.
The vessels’ cargo capacity is small, which typically would peg the ships as feeder vessels, but the design will enable them to undertake liner services on long-haul routes.
“This is where we go back to our bold business model decisions in that, although the size is traditionally a feeder vessel, we will be operating primarily on a liner service, even really aiming at transatlantic [trade],” Southcott told TradeWinds last year.
“We’re able to do this, given that for the longer routes we’ll be using almost exclusively wind power, which of course, once you have the capital expense provided for the rigging, is free, so we do have unlimited range, which is unique. This allows us to have quite a niche service.”
The Veer ships will be designed for speed, reaching up to 18 knots under sail alone.
“Veer is all about bringing non-carbon-emitting vessels to the commercial shipping industry in a viable business manner,” said naval architect Scott McClure of Alan C McClure Associates.
“Applying alternative means of propulsion and fuels coupled with optimised ship design for the intended service is what inspired me to work with Veer to collectively achieve this goal.”
The two ships will be built to the silent class notation, also known as bio-acoustic pollution, to minimise underwater radiated noise.
Southcott, who was last year highlighted as an innovator on TradeWinds’ Green Power List, is a master mariner who specialises in helming sailing vessels.
In 2021, her sailing career and social enterprise work evolved into Veer, which she describes as a “revolutionary shipping company that is more focused on energy and bold business-model decisions than most traditional shipping companies”.
