Foil-borne container platform moves forward with port-to-port transport

Fly-Box, a Franco-Swiss maritime deeptech startup developing a new generation of foil-borne container platforms, is entering a new phase, it has announced.

After building key relationships in the Gulf this spring to prepare pilot routes and successfully flying its prototype over the summer, the company has started an indepth techno-economic assessment with a global industry leader that combines shipping and terminal operations. Fly-Box platforms will be benchmarked against trucks and feeder vessels through concrete, real-world use cases.

Fly-Box’s 20-m platforms can carry a 40-ft container on foils at a 25-knot cruising speed, new port-to-port flows while leveraging existing infrastructure. A Fly-Box line can operate from a small, shallow-draft berth, and a single reach stacker is sufficient to handle container loading.

For operators equipped with Fly-Box platforms, freight forwarders will be able to sell shippers an express sea service that removes cargo from the terminal immediately. Containers can then be transferred to trucks much closer to the end customer, departing from secondary ports and inland ports that are far less congested.

“With Fly-Box, the sea regains its role in port-to-port transport. On a vast number of routes, our next-gen coastal shipping pushes trucking back to where it truly adds value: the last miles. Hyper-concentration has made global supply chains highly efficient in terms of volume and cost but their lack of agility and responsiveness is a key weakness. Fly-Box addresses that while actively decarbonising,” said Fly-Box chief operating officer Admiral Antoine de Roquefeuil.

This assessment with a major industry player will enable detailed modelling of capex, opex and ESG implications for the operator, its customers and key stakeholders. It will examine integration with digital systems such as TOS, PCS, planning and vessel-tracking tools, as well as with terminal physical infrastructure including navigation, handling, energy, safety and maintenance. It will also help calibrate how the solution fits within the broader ecosystem: shippers, freight forwarders, 3/4PLs, shipping, terminals and inland logistics, and public authorities such as customs, maritime affairs and port authorities. 

Fly-Box aims to operate its flying platforms as autonomous swarms. Its foils deliver both speed and efficiency, with energy consumption reduced by 30% to 40%. For an equivalent size at sea, conventional barge hulls are slowed and battered by chop, whereas Fly-Box platforms ride above the surface with stability, preserving cruising speed and, therefore, schedule reliability.

For naval architecture, foils and flight control, Fly-Box has built a team of experts, notably from the America’s Cup and l’Hydroptère. For energy and systems, its experts have come through Venturi and EPFL. Officers from the French Navy contribute maritime and port-operations expertise. This summer, the startup successfully flew its prototype on Lake Geneva: an 8-m scaled demonstrator validating key programme choices. Six patents have already been filed. The demonstrator will return to Lake Geneva in spring in an A-26 configuration, paving the way for drone-ready operations.

“Two years after the initial intuition, the idea has moved off the page: the prototype is flying, the business models are sharpening, and discussions with industry players are multiplying, from the Gulf’s shores to European ports. A new, fully automated building block on the water is emerging, mirroring the automation already visible on land in terminals,” said Fly-Box founder Alain Thébault.