VELA: The
power of wind,
tailored to your needs.
Discover how we address your sector’s priorities. A solution for every requirement.
OUR EXPERTISE
A solution designed for your industry
We know every sector has its own logistics imperatives: reliability, critical deadlines, sensitive goods, specific requirements… At VELA, we’ve
developed an offer tailored to the unique needs of six major industries. See how we meet your expectations with precision and passion.
Pharma &
Medical
Critical transport for essential products. Temperature-controlled holds and exemplary traceability deliver the reliability your industry demands – fully GDP Pharma certified.
Fragrance & Beauty
Your excellence deserves transport as meticulous as your products. Fast, secure logistics tailored to the most demanding conditions, ensuring your cosmetics are protected from departure to delivery.
Fashion
Let your creativity cross the Atlantic. Whether for capsule collections or signature pieces, VELA guarantees on-time delivery with minimal environmental and social impact.
Lifestyle
Cargo as unique as your passions: designer furniture, high-end equipment or exceptional sporting goods – VELA combines speed, care and sustainability.
Wines & Spirits
Preserving the authenticity of your vintages and creations is our top priority. With strict temperature control and respectful handling, your craftsmanship arrives intact and with added character – just as it should.
Industry
Optimize your flow with a robust, efficient solution. Spare parts, technical products – your priorities are our priorities.
Leaders
navigating toward
a sustainable
future with us.
Pharma & Medical
“Echosens is a medical technology company that designs and manufactures diagnostic devices for liver disease screening. Our devices are shipped all over the world. The opportunity to transport them by sea — and especially by sailboat — immediately struck me as both compelling and perfectly aligned with our ambitious CSR goals.
Today, we rely on air freight. By working with VELA, we’ll be able to significantly reduce our carbon footprint while supporting the growth of a company with a truly promising future. Today, it’s the U.S. — tomorrow, I hope, the entire world”
Dominique Legros, Group CEO Echosens
Fashion
“SMCP is proud to support the launch of VELA’s wind-powered shipping line. This initiative, driven by our teams on both sides of the Atlantic, will help us meet our carbon footprint reduction targets. Our climate strategy focuses primarily on lowering greenhouse gas emissions from product manufacturing and reducing our reliance on air transport.”
Damien Pellé, Group Sustainability Director, SMCP (Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot, Fursac)
Wines & spirits
“At Champagne Thiénot, we are deeply rooted in tradition — but just as committed to innovation. That’s why our House is proud to support VELA – Sail For Goods. Starting in 2026, our cuvées will cross the Atlantic aboard a trimaran. This partnership reflects the bold spirit of our House: embracing the unexpected, stepping off the beaten path, and celebrating what makes us unique. We are proud to revive the adventure of wind-powered shipping while making a positive impact on the environment.”
Stanislas Thiénot, CEO, ARVITIS
Wines & spirits
“Planet Aura, as an international freight forwarder, is fully committed to an eco-responsible approach. The innovative solutions developed by VELA allow us to offer winemakers environmentally friendly shipping options.
Temperature-controlled and humidity-regulated conditions ensure optimal transport for wines and champagnes. This partnership marks an important step forward in our journey — combining excellence with responsibility.
We’re excited to entrust VELA with our first shipments, ushering in a new era of elegant, respectful transport.”
Floriane Février, CEO of Planet Aura
Containers have been ruling goods transportation over the last 50 years.This choice was made for economic reasons but with a high environmental impact, just like air freight.
- #IMPACT: the weight of the containers (3 tons each) accounts for more than 20% of what is being transported on a conventional container ship vs. 2% for equivalent pallets (25kg each). Using pallets enables the transport of goods alone, without useless extra weight. Each pallet represents a reduction of 200kg in weight and the corresponding CO2 emissions.
- #STANDARD: we transport your goods in the same way they were initially prepared at your warehouse in French or US formats.
- #AGILE: You only pay for the goods we transport for you. There are no consolidation fees to compensate empty container management.
- #OPTIMISED: using pallets enables a vessel’s hold to be fully optimised and thus transport more goods than with containers.
We use very advanced weather routing techniques to define the optimal trajectory for each crossing. This allows us to avoid windless areas and areas where the wind is too strong.
These innovative cargo ships coupled with this routing allow us to be faster than conventional container ships (unloading included) on the Caen-New Haven route
It depends on the types of products and the palletizing plan.
We are up to 5 times cheaper than air travel.
For example, for a bottle of mid-range spirits, the additional cost represents a few tens of cents, compared to conventional sea freight.
At VELA, we practice “fair” prices for sustainable and socially responsible transport.