Grain de Sail II

WHY IS GRAIN DE SAIL II BEING BUILT IN VIETNAM?

WE TELL YOU MORE ABOUT OUR SECOND CARGO SAILBOAT, GRAIN DE SAIL II, BUILT BY PIRIOU IN A YARD IN VIETNAM.

The first Grain de Sail cargo sailboat, a 24-meter aluminum-hulled demonstrator, was built in France, near Nantes, and has been in operation since November 2020. For Grain de Sail II, a larger 52-meter aluminum-hulled vessel, various French and European shipyards were invited to tender. Although some shipyards did not wish to take part in our tender, several did respond, and it was the Breton shipyard Piriou that was finally selected in January 2022. Their proposal to carry out part of the work at their headquarters in Concarneau and the rest at their yard specialized in aluminum construction based in Ho-Chi Minh, Vietnam was the best suited to our needs. Lorient-based LORIMA was selected to manufacture and install the masts, while Breton naval architecture firm L2Onaval worked on the design of our cargo yacht.

A construction project of this scale for a first-of-its-kind vessel is complex, and takes several years to organize and bring to fruition. Immense efforts and thousands of man-hours were required to solve both technical and budgetary challenges, both by our in-house teams and by various external partners from different trades.

The decision to award a contract to a shipyard is a major one, and is based first and foremost on precise specifications, a level of competence and quality, availability to deliver the vessel according to a defined schedule, and of course a global budget, as well as a shared vision between our companies. Piriou’s proposal perfectly met all these criteria, and the solution of building in Ho-Chi Minh was chosen.

It’s fair to point out that the construction of roto-propelled cargo ships is still something of a novelty, and that French shipyards are not necessarily in a position or best placed to respond to these projects. If our preference is to work with French suppliers and builders, all the criteria listed above will be taken into account in the decision and award (not just national preference). It’s also worth noting that other French projects for merchant ships are also being carried out abroad (Poland, Turkey, Romania, etc.). We depend on an incipient ecosystem that goes beyond Grain de Sail, and which is set to grow as the marine transportation industry takes shape.

Loïc BRIAND, Director of Grain de Sail Shipping and Olivier BARREAU, Chairman of Grain de Sail.

Preparing the launch of the Grain de Sail II float, in May 2023 in Ho-Chi Minh, Vietnam.

Grain de Sail II float launched in May 2023 in Ho-Chi Minh, Vietnam.

The final stages in the construction of Grain de Sail II

After two months at sea, Grain de Sail II dropped anchor in her home port of Saint-Malo on November 27, 2023. Final preparations for her launch took place in the days following her arrival.

the christening of the cargo yacht GDS II in saint malo

January 11, 2024, the sun is out in Saint-Malo. The Grain de Sail teams and several hundred guests, smiles on their faces, admire the bottle of Comté de Goëlo cider smashing against the aluminum hull of the 52 m schooner. The Wazo brass band celebrates this historic event for the Breton company.

Grain de Sail II

WHY IS GRAIN DE SAIL II BEING BUILT IN VIETNAM?

WE TELL YOU MORE ABOUT OUR SECOND CARGO SAILBOAT, GRAIN DE SAIL II, BUILT BY PIRIOU IN A YARD IN VIETNAM.

The final stages in the construction of Grain de Sail II

After two months at sea, Grain de Sail II dropped anchor in her home port of Saint-Malo on November 27, 2023. Final preparations for her launch took place in the days following her arrival.

the christening of the cargo yacht GDS II in saint malo

January 11, 2024, the sun is out in Saint-Malo. The Grain de Sail teams and several hundred guests, smiles on their faces, admire the bottle of Comté de Goëlo cider smashing against the aluminum hull of the 52 m schooner. The Wazo brass band celebrates this historic event for the Breton company.

March 15, 2024, Inaugural departure for New York for Grain de Sail II

On March 15, 2024, our cargo sailboat Grain de Sail II set sail.

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