Wind-powered cargo ship sets sail for IJmuiden
The Tres Hombres is a sailing freighter that ships fair products, such as artisanal cocoa, rum, coffee, wine and honey. The ship was named after three friends
that set up a sailing transport company in 2007. They ship products using wind power. The Tres Hombres is a sailing ship without an engine. This type of transport requires great craftsmanship and mastery. They can transport a maximum of 40 tonnes (40,000 kilos) of cargo. They make as many stops as they can on their journey, as each stop is an opportunity for trade. For example, on Monday, 15 November 2021, they sailed from the port of Den Helder for Portugal, the Canaries (including La Palma) with the intention of crossing the ocean to the Caribbean afterwards. In Portugal, they will load up on olive oil and sardines, and in La Palma, they will take on a cargo of wine, which they will take across the ocean. In the Caribbean, they will drop anchor in the Dominican Republic and Barbados, where they will trade the wine for rum, cocoa and coffee.
Contrary to convention, they prove that it's possible: fair, climate-neutral transport from one side of the ocean to the other.
A few years ago, when the ship the Tres Hombres was docked in Den Helder for maintenance, we met Andreas, one of the three friends and skippers of the shipping company Fairtransport. They found us because they were looking for an optimally climate-neutral paint for their ship that offered maximum protection. By now, they have been using our linseed stand oil paint for years to maintain all the woodwork above the waterline. On top of that, they use raw linseed oil for the preservation of the interior and exterior steel of the ship.
We are extremely proud of these three friends and Fair Transport, their bustling shipping company that sells delightful delicacies all over the world. We are happy that we managed to get our hands on some of these products, as they're selling like hot cakes now. We hope you'll enjoy them as much as we do! And we hope this story will inspire you to try your luck off the beaten track! Like a true explorer.