The 136-metre (450-foot) Neoliner Origin was floated at the Turkish port of Tuzla, and will now undergo six months of fitting-out.

Designed by French company Neoline and built by Turkish shipyard RMK Marine, the ship can carry 5,300 tonnes of freight over long distances thanks to its two masts and 3,000 square metres of sails.

"Thanks to the wind, and by reducing speed from 15 knots (about 30 kilometres or 18 miles an hour) to 11 knots, we can cut fuel consumption and therefore emissions by a factor of five compared with a conventional ship," Jean Zanuttini, president of Nantes-based Neoline, told AFP.

With about 90 percent of world trade going by sea, the maritime transport sector is responsible for about three percent of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Maritime Organization.

The ship will leave Turkey during the summer of 2025 for the French Atlantic port of Saint-Nazaire, then will begin its first rotation toward North America, serving the French island of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, the US port of Baltimore and Halifax in Canada.

The project received support from France's public investment bank (BPI) and the French shipping company CMA-CGM.

Zanuttini said the shipyard would soon begin work on a second similar ship.

str-ach/asm/gv/rlp

ORIGIN ENERGY

W. R. Grace and Company

BANCO BPI