Almost everything you consume, from your weekly shop
to the Christmas presents you ordered online, arrived by
cargo ship. Shipping is the engine of the world economy,
transporting 11 billion tonnes of goods each year. Despite
an environmental crisis, shipping emissions have doubled
since 1990, producing over one billion tonnes of CO2,
more than aviation, more than Germany, even more than
France, Britain, and Italy combined.
To understand whether there are any realistic and
sustainable alternatives for the industry, Christiaan
De Beukelaer spent 150 days covering 14,000 nautical
miles on-board the Avontuur, a century old two masted
schooner fitted for cargo. Trade winds traces the author’s
transatlantic journey, which crystallised his thinking on
the uncertain future facing the gargantuan machine that
is commercial shipping. This book engagingly recounts
both this personal odyssey and the journey the shipping
industry is embarking on to cut its carbon emissions.


This book recounts Christiaan De Beukelaer's personal odyssey aboard a sail cargo vessel and offers a compelling insight into the developments the shipping industry is undertaking to cut its carbon emissions