Chantiers de l’Atlantique and the Accor Group will build two World’s largest sail cruise Ship
Chantiers de l’Atlantique and the Accor group have signed a letter of intent to order the construction of two revolutionary sailing ships. They will become World’s largest sail cruise Ships.
The order will be signed within a few weeks and will cover the construction of two very large sailing ships. The first ship, named “Orient Express Silenseas”, will be delivered in March 2026 and the second on September 1, 2027.
The Orient Express Silenseas is a reference to the legendary Normandy liner built by Chantiers de l’Atlantique in the thirties which was, for the time, the largest liner in the world, the most modern, the most luxurious, but also the fastest.
A cosmopolitan icon of train travel for more than 130 years, the Orient Express is one of the jewels of French railway heritage. With the Orient Express Silenseas, Accor aims to offer its passengers a unique experience, halfway between these two travel icons. All in a ship with a very modern design with an assumed ecological ambition.
The 120 passengers of the Orient Express Silenseas will enjoy fifty suites – spread over four decks – ranging from 70 m 2 to 1,415 m 2 for the exceptional presidential suite. In the few notes of intentions entrusted by the future shipowner we find in particular: a double spiral staircase, a swimming corridor suspended between two bridges, a 550 m 2 spa , a marina, two restaurants, a lounge bar, a cabaret -theater or even a recording studio. All on a ship 220 meters long.
The Orient Express Silenseas will be the largest sailboat in the world but also the reference liner from an environmental point of view. It will be propelled in particular thanks to sails with the “SolidSail” technological design developed by Chantiers de l’Atlantique and will be able to ensure on its own, in suitable weather conditions, the service speed of the vessel. The three rigid sails, with a surface area of 1,500 square meters each (4,500 m2 of total sail area), will be made up of glass-polyester panels folding like fans, and will be hoisted on balestron rigging. These masts will be tiltable and will culminate at more than 100 meters high. Hybrid propulsion running on liquefied natural gas (LNG) will also be associated.
