Construction Order Placed for First Autonomous, Wind-Powered Cargo Ship

Clippership has ordered a 24-meter sail-powered vessel with a capacity of 75 pallets that is capable of autonomous operations (Clippership)

Published Dec 18, 2025 6:39 PM by The Maritime Executive

A California-based startup called Clippership, working with a team of established leaders in the maritime community, reports it has completed designs classed by RINA for its first vessel, a wind-powered cargo ship designed for autonomous operations. The first vessel is seen as a demonstration of the company’s unique concept targeting small shippers.

Naval architecture for the new vessel was carried out by Dykstra Naval Architects, renowned for innovative sailing vessels, while American naval architecture and marine engineering firm Glosten completed the vessel’s structural engineering. Clippership in developing the autonomy software and rigid sail/wing design in-house. RINA is the class society that approved the designs. 

Having successfully completed the designs, Clippership has now entered into a construction contract with KM Yachtbuilders in the Netherlands, a yard known for rugged, innovative expedition vessels. The first ship, a 24-meter (79-foot) design, they report, will be launched in late 2026 and sail under the flag of Malta.

The company points out that the vessel is specifically designed for small shippers and will provide advantages over attempting to move small cargoes on larger containerships and the costs of ground transportation, or the costs of air freight. The vessel will have a capacity for 75 Euro-pallets with a climate-controlled cargo hold. They report the design is optimized for point-to-point transportation.

The ship will have two foldable rigid wings for primary wind propulsion. The wings will be made of a carbon composite, which the company says will make the wings more than twice as powerful as modern fabric sails. Further, the folding mechanism will permit the sails to be stowed flat on deck during adverse weather conditions or in port.

Key to the concept are lower operating costs. To achieve that, the vessel is designed for open-ocean autonomy. Initially, they anticipate a supervisory crew on board, but the ship will function through a series of systems. The ship will use real-time environmental inputs to dynamically manage course selection, wing trim, and steering control, as well as collision avoidance with other ships and stationary objects. Integrated systems include high-resolution marine radar; video and forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras; satellite-based remote weather sensing; and constant sharing of automatic identification system (AIS) data with other craft and shore stations.

Clippership, which describes itself as a maritime robotics company whose mission is to build a new and better way of transporting cargo across oceans and waterways, has ambitious plans. They report that the first demonstration ship will gather data to design improvements that will deliver even better performance. They look to use the information to advance the designs for the vessels and plan to evolve to fully uncrewed voyages with remotely monitored autonomy as the platform matures and MASS regulations are adopted globally.

The first ship will sail trans-Atlantic and to the Caribbean and South America. The company’s future plans call for a 48-meter (158-foot) vessel that will have a capacity for 400 pallets and automated pallet handling.

EcoCO2-Equipped Vessel Successfully Completes Gas Trial

Published Dec 19, 2025 8:56 PM by The Maritime Executive

[By Babcock International Group]

Babcock’s LGE business, a global leader in liquefied gas solutions, has announced a significant new milestone in its pioneering ecoCO2® cargo handling system project.

The first of four 22,000m³ liquefied CO? (LCO2) carriers, developed under a world-first contract with Capital Gas Ship Management, has now completed its maiden gas trial – a critical phase in the vessel’s commissioning process.

The trial marked the first operational test of the ecoCO2® system onboard a commercial vessel, validating its performance in handling and reliquefying low-pressure CO? cargo. The ecoCO2® system, which received Approval in Principle from Lloyd’s Register during Gastech 2023, is designed to support the full Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) value chain and is capable of transporting refrigerated liquid CO?, LPG and ammonia.

Managing Director of Babcock’s LGE business, Neale Campbell, said: “The successful completion of this gas trial represents a major step forward in demonstrating the operational readiness and flexibility of our ecoCO2® technology. This milestone is the result of our team and partners’ hard work as we move closer to full deployment of this innovative system, which supports global decarbonisation efforts.”

The vessel, the largest LCO2 carrier in the market, is scheduled for delivery in January 2026. The successful completion of the gas trial will pave the way for commercial operations and further adoption of ecoCO2® technology across the industry.
 

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