Sailcargo buys Swedish sailing cargo vessel to accelerate green shipping

Costa Rica-based clean shipping company Sailcargo has purchased sailing cargo vessel Vega Gamleby in an effort to accelerate clean shipping.

The purchase comes amind a huge growth in the clean shipping industry at the moment, with consumers demanding sustainable supply chains and ethically delivered products.

Vega will sail approximately 148 cubic metres of green coffee beans and other dry goods between Colombia and the United States.

Bought from the Swedish shipbuilding family Bergström, the vessel will commence its delivery voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in mid-May 2022.

The first cargo will be coffee beans, transported for Canadian coffee importer Café William and will sail in the fourth quarter of 2022.

As explained, the purchase of Vega will expedite Sailcargo’s vision of clean shipping and allow the company to start generating revenue this year. This will pave the way for the company’s first ship Ceiba — under construction in Costa Rica and expected to launch in 2023, allowing the company to start shipping while Ceiba is finished.

“The clean shipping industry is growing faster than ever and we want to keep that momentum going while Ceiba is completed. We specifically bought Vega because she is built to the highest possible standard,” Danielle Doggett, CEO and founder of Sailcargo, commented.

Vega is a three-masted, square top sail wooden cargo schooner originally built in Sweden in 1909. It served as an industrial cargo ship for nearly 60 years.

The new Vega retains just 15% of the original vessel – preserving the rich history, inside a ship built to exacting modern standards. Vega was restored by the aforementioned Swedish shipbuilding family and was relaunched in 2006.

Once the vessel arrives in the Caribbean, Vega will be refit to maximise the cargo holds – before beginning its new life sailing products from Santa Marta, Colombia to New Jersey, United States.

Members of Vega’s original Swedish crew and Sailcargo crew are currently working together to prepare the vessel for the Atlantic crossing.

According to Sailcargo, Vega’s international reputation will help expedite the company’s impact on the clean shipping industry and will energise investments in sustainable projects.

Sailcargo has become internationally known for its construction of Ceiba, a wooden cargo schooner based in Costa Rica. Ceiba has been funded by private impact investors from around the world who have taken action to prove the value of clean shipping. The company has recently been restructured to offer a diverse portfolio of clean shipping and community development projects.

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