Video: Unique Sail-Assisted Ro-Ro Makes First U.S. Visit in Port Canaveral

Canopée, which is billed as the world’s first hybrid propulsion commercial cargo vessel, arrived in Port Canaveral, Florida, on Monday evening, September 2, for its first-ever U.S. port call. The vessel is fitted with four wing sails and transports components for the European Space Agency. 

The current trip brought the vessel from France where it departed on August 19 with a stop in Bremen, Germany, on August 22. She was coming to the U.S. to deliver the European Service Module (ESM-3) module, which will fly on the NASA SLS Artemis-III mission to the moon scheduled to launch in September 2026. Offloading of her cargo was handled by Ambassador Services International for transport to the Kennedy Space Center and the vessel departed Florida on September 4, for a return trip to Belgium.

"Port Canaveral was thrilled to welcome the MV Canopée on its first visit to the U.S. and proud to support NASA and their European Space Agency partners as they prepare for a historic return to the Moon,” said Capt. John Murray, Port Canaveral CEO. “The design and purpose of this sail-assisted commercial vessel is unique for the maritime transport sector in both innovation and the type of cargo it carries for space exploration. "

Canopée was built in Poland by the Neptune Shipyard with her first sea trials in December 2022. Her wing sails were fitted in 2023. Developed by AYRO, the sails are each just over 120 feet in height with a surface area of 363 square meters. The sails consist of two flaps, one forward and one aft. The design makes it possible to adjust the angle of incidence of the wings, which turn 360 degrees in relation to the wind while the rear flap can pivot around the secondary mast to create a camber in relation to the front flap. The sails are collapsible. The company reports they help to achieve up to a 30 percent saving on fuel consumption.

Vessel is a Ro-Ro specifically designed to handle the space program cargo (Port Canaveral)

The vessel (5,500 dwt) is registered in France and operated by Alizes. The purpose-built vessel was designed by ArianeGroup. It is 400 feet long. It is the first large-scale hybrid sailing cargo ship ever constructed and serves as a model for a new generation of wind-assisted propulsion that is now planned.

The vessel’s primary deployment is to transport Ariane 6 rocket components from ports in Europe to the European Space Agency launch pad in French Guiana.

Made her first U.S. visit in Port Canaveral

With her sails deployed at sea (Alizés)