Low-carbon cargo tall ship to sail the Channel

The low-carbon vessel will make three sailings a from October

The operators of an eco-friendly cargo ship hope to save two trucks worth of carbon in each journey to France from Sussex.

The tall ship venture offers to transport produce up to three times a week from Newhaven to Le Treport, Normandy, on low-carbon sailboats.

The English and French crews say they will use engine power to safely navigate both ports, however the majority of the journey will be wind-powered.

Cargo shipping across the Channel creates an estimated 200,000 tonnes of CO2 every year, according to data from the International Maritime Organization.

The route was first trialled in 2021 to show transporting pallets on a tall ship was possible.

Now from October, a tall ship will begin to bring French goods including spreads and condiments to the UK.

Brighton-based social enterprise Shrub has set up a fundraiser to finance the first few trips, allowing supporters to order French food or sponsor a pallet.

The company says currently 95% of goods traded between France and the UK are transported by lorry on ferries between Dover and Calais.

It says a pallet on a ferry emits an average of 4kg of CO2 during its journey, which means the 135,000 pallets crossing the Channel every day amounts to around 200,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

"There has to be another way, and we've got it - it's through Newhaven," says Shrub.

'Decarbonise'

Shrub is collaborating with French partners, including Groupe Développement Normandie, as well as Newhaven Enterprise Zone and Newhaven Port and Properties.

Groupe Développement Normandie's director Graham Precey said: "Right now there is no plan to decarbonise the two ferries moving between Newhaven and Dieppe.

"What we wanted to practically show between Sussex and Normandy that there's a way of moving those pallets with products on - and maybe even importing and exporting much more - but without using between 11kg and 18kg of carbon every time you move those pallets."