Miaraka construction: progress update
Our teams visited the RMK Marine shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey: regulatory inspections, a review of the 3D model and visits to two equipment suppliers.
Antoine Clément, newbuild manager and the vessel’s future master, Victor Depoers, technical director, and Olivier Huchet, superintendent, visited the RMK Marine shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey, on 25 August. The programme covered regulatory inspections, a review of the 3D model, coordination of technical interfaces and visits to two equipment suppliers.
Miaraka is the wind-assisted container ship that Windcoop will put into service between Marseille and Madagascar in summer 2027. Zéphyr & Borée supervises construction and will take on technical management after delivery. In practice, we follow the shipyard on the cooperative’s behalf, approve engineering choices and settle technical questions with the builder and the equipment suppliers.
In brief
- Vessel: Miaraka, 210 TEU wind-assisted container ship
- Client: Windcoop, maritime cooperative
- Zéphyr & Borée’s role: construction supervision, technical management from delivery
- Shipyard: RMK Marine, Tuzla (Turkey)
- Route: Marseille to Madagascar, via the Cape of Good Hope
- Construction: 13 of 37 hull blocks assembled
- Reefer capacity: 56 plugs
- Passenger berths: 10, operated by Sailcoop, more than 150 pre-registrations
Where hull construction stands
The vessel will be assembled from 37 blocks. Thirteen have come out of the workshop and assembly is on contractual schedule.
At 210 TEU, Miaraka is a small container ship. The sizing reflects the constraints of Madagascar’s secondary ports, whose draught limits and cargo-handling equipment rule out mainline vessels.
3D model review
Our technical teams reviewed the vessel’s digital model: general layout, piping routing and accommodation fit-out. The review approved the design as a whole and confirmed one change, with reefer capacity increasing from 40 to 56 plugs. Miaraka will therefore be able to carry more refrigerated containers during Madagascar’s fresh produce season.
Two Turkish suppliers were inspected during the same trip. At Oak Marine, we approved the materials, insulation and drawings for the galley. At Gurdesan, we examined the manufacture of the deck crane and the mooring winches. The vessel will load and discharge using its own gear in Madagascar’s ports, which have no shoreside handling equipment.
Factory acceptance tests
The visit follows the factory acceptance tests (FAT) we attended in Europe over recent weeks: the propulsion engine at ABC in Belgium, and the Damsia oily water separator in Brest.
Preparing for operations
We are preparing the vessel’s entry into service alongside Windcoop. Routing via the Cape of Good Hope adds around ten days to the voyage. Under current market conditions the service remains competitive, and the cooperative’s long-standing shippers, including Arcadie, Valrhona and Demad, remain committed.
Sailcoop will manage the vessel’s ten passenger berths. More than 150 people have already pre-registered.
What comes next
Block assembly continues, with launch scheduled for January 2027. We will document the following stages through to entry into service.