San Francisco, CA, 17 December 2025 — Clippership, which focuses on autonomous ships powered by wind, said it has completed design work on the first vessel in its 24 m class and has agreed a newbuilding contract for the initial cargo ship with Dutch yard KM Yachtbuilders.
The 24 m design uses a pair of foldable rigid wings as the main wind-propulsion device and is intended to operate without crew on open-ocean routes. As many as 75 Euro-pallets can be carried in a climate-controlled cargo hold.
The vessel will be built at KM Yachtbuilders in the Netherlands to RINA rules. During construction, it will be supervised for classification as a “General Cargo Ship – Powered Sailing Ship” with the additional WAPS (Wind Assisted Propulsion System) notation. It is scheduled to fly the Maltese flag, with launch planned for late 2026, followed by pilot services on routes linking the transatlantic, Caribbean and South America.
Overall naval architecture for the project has been led by Dykstra Naval Architects, whose large sailing projects include SY Black Pearl, Sea Eagle and Maltese Falcon. US-based Glosten has delivered structural engineering. KM Yachtbuilders contributes experience from aluminum expedition vessels such as Qilak, Bestevaer and Pelagic.
Clippership is developing the vessel’s autonomy functions and rigid-wing arrangement internally so that control and propulsion are delivered as a single integrated system, with a focus on safety, operating efficiency and dependable performance on deep-sea routes. A Clippership spokesperson said the combination of Dykstra Naval Architects’ work on large sailing vessels, Glosten’s engineering role and the company’s own autonomy and rigid-wing development gives the 24 m class a solid technical base. The spokesperson added that assigning the build to KM Yachtbuilders and working from an RINA-approved design keeps the vessel aligned with relevant international requirements.
