Back Aboard Tres Hombres: Sailing an Engineless Cargo Ship Through Europe’s Historic Trade Routes

In an era of mega container ships and global supply chains, one 109-foot brigantine is making the case — voyage by voyage — that wind-powered cargo shipping isn’t just a relic of the past. The Tres Hombres, operated by Fair Transport out of the Netherlands, has spent nearly two decades transporting goods under sail alone across the Atlantic and along European coastlines, with no engine aboard. Now, adventurer and author Jordan Hanssen is returning for a second stint as crew, this time sailing European waters to transport wine between ports along the North Sea, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay. For those who love maritime tradition and are watching the slow revival of sail in commercial shipping, this is a story worth following.

As Hanssen writes for Best4Boats:

Almost three years ago, I stepped onto the brigantine Tres Hombres, an engineless cargo ship, as a volunteer crewman to sail across the Atlantic Ocean and back again. We visited a half dozen ports and come back with 40 tons of rum, cacao, and coffee. For almost 20 years the idealistic sailors who founded Fair Transport out of the Netherlands have been providing an example of living by one’s ideals.

What makes Tres Hombres more than a nostalgic curiosity is the broader industry shift happening around her. Even multinational corporations like Cargill have begun retrofitting sails on cargo vessels and investing in wind-assist technology. While Tres Hombres carries roughly the equivalent of a single 40-foot container, her real cargo may be the conversation she starts at every port — reconnecting people with the maritime commerce that built their waterfront communities in the first place.

Hanssen notes that modern container ports have largely separated cities from the ships that sustain them. Vessels like Tres Hombres, pulling up to town wharves and unloading by hand, offer a visible reminder of that connection — and a glimpse of what a lower-carbon shipping future might look like.