RoPACALPHA ZULU CLASS
Alpha Zulu RoPAC trimaran under sail, turquoise sails and solar decks

The Sea is
Our Highway

Strategic Maritime Decarbonisation Infrastructure

RUTH demonstrates it. Alpha Zulu scales it. RoPAC connects the Caribbean.

01 · Strategic infrastructure

A fifty-year commitment, finally built

The wind and the sea have always been our strategic infrastructure; a fossil-fuel-free fleet turns them into strategic infrastructure assets we own. What has been missing are the ships.

  • CARICOM committed to a regional sea transport system at Grand Anse in 1989. It was never built. RoPAC is that infrastructure — regionally built, owned, and crewed, powered by wind and sun instead of imported fuel. Island Scale.
  • Formally recognized by the Government of Barbados as a Sustainable Economic Development (Shipping) Initiative; presented to the CARICOM Secretariat as a zero fossil fuel onboard burn intra island transport pilot.
  • In formal collaboration with the IMO MTCC at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) and the University of the West Indies Centre for Agricultural Research and Innovation (formerly the Centre for Food Security and Entrepreneurship): the S.V. RUTH Caribbean Sail Cargo Initiative — the Alpha Zulu RoPAC demonstrator.
  • In collaboration with Export Barbados under its Green Industrialisation Gateway (GIGA) — whose own paper, Green Logistics for Inter-Island Trade (2025), makes the case for exactly this service — connecting the island’s new generation of green manufacturers and food producers to scheduled zero-emission export shipping.
  • Ownership stays regional: outside capital enters as debt, grants, or a citizen/diaspora bond — never controlling equity.
UWI Centre for Agricultural Research and Innovation (formerly the Centre for Food Security & Entrepreneurship) · Global Affairs Canada PROPEL, via WUSCThe entire programme has its genesis in regional food security: a formal partnership since the Caribbean Sail Cargo Initiative launched with RUTH in 2014, linking countries of supply to countries of demand “in an efficient and predictable scheduled manner.” Guaranteed markets for regional farmers, guaranteed by scheduled shipping. (CFSE letter of introduction, April 2015.) Early international development backing: under GAC’s PROPEL programme, implemented by World University Service of Canada, RUTH received funding support for her planned solar-refrigerated inter-island produce runs — Windwards, Barbados — with young crews earning IMO STCW seafaring certifications aboard.
UWI Caribbean Shipping Lanes (CSL, 2025)CSL-commissioned research warns that proposed IMO decarbonisation measures could increase Caribbean trade costs and put further pressure on food affordability and supply. Its technical assessment identifies electric inter-island vessels and port charging infrastructure as opportunities for reducing emissions. These findings strengthen the case for investment in resilient, low-carbon regional shipping.
EU maritime decarbonisation support for SIDS/LDCs — proposed 2026The European Commission’s proposed Article 3gab would reserve 900,000 EU ETS allowances annually until 2035 to support maritime decarbonisation in qualifying Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries. At an illustrative €75 per allowance, this represents €67.5 million annually across eligible countries. Schooner RUTH and Alpha Zulu align with the objectives of this proposed EU framework and could qualify for support, subject to final eligibility rules.
EU Taxonomy (Climate Delegated Act)Zero direct emissions is the EU’s defining test for climate-mitigating maritime transport. Alpha Zulu clears it outright — and carries no fossil fuel to disqualify it.
RoPAC’s propositionA fossil-fuel-free ship is itself an asset of maritime decarbonisation infrastructure — strategic infrastructure, not replacement tonnage.
CARICOM Strong — Champion Maritime Limited
A fossil-fuel-free RoPAC is not replacement tonnage — it is a floating extension of the regional food system strategic maritime decarbonisation infrastructure.Concept discussion brief · September 2026
Schooner RUTH under full sail, aerial view
Schooner RUTH — more than a decade proving the operating concept in real Caribbean conditions.
Ian Dash, founder of RoPAC, standing at the open rear cargo bay of a transport aircraft
Ian Dash — founder of RoPAC and Champion Maritime Limited, at the cargo bay of a transport aircraft.
02 · Alpha Zulu class

RUTH proved the concept. Alpha Zulu is what comes next.

A purpose-engineered, zero-fossil-fuel vessel class designed from first principles for Small Island Developing States.
Alpha Zulu: from A to Z, absolute zero fossil fuel, absolute zero emissions.

Alpha Zulu RoPAC loading palletised cargo by stern ramp at Bridgetown
Roll-in cargo by stern ramp — Barbados built, Caribbean owned, Caribbean crewed.

Preliminary particulars

  • Alpha Zulu is a break-bulk/LCL packet vessel selling measured cargo space by cubic metre and pallet-equivalent position.
  • Cold chain built in: Eight independently insulated, roller-shuttered cargo compartments, each configurable as frozen (−18 °C), chilled (0–4 °C), cool (10–15 °C) or ambient, according to cargo requirements. Refrigeration runs on the vessel’s own renewable energy, supporting an unbroken cold chain from farm gate to point of sale.
  • Autonomous-ready: designed for progressive automation and remote-support functions under the IMO MASS Code framework, in effect from 1 July 2026, with a crewed vessel and full onboard command as the starting point.
  • Intended flag: Barbados; international voyages within the Caribbean Trading Area.

Preliminary particulars, subject to design development and classification review. Built at Port Trident Shipyard, Barbados, with majority local value-added content.

The Alpha Zulu sail cargo trimaran was conceived in Barbados in early 2020, during the COVID-19 interregnum and curfews. Following more than two years of discussion and redesign with our naval architect, the preliminary design was settled in June 2022. Thereafter, a suite of enabling and modernised marine legislation and regulatory instruments was drafted, tabled before the Barbados Parliament, and enacted in 2024 and 2025. Concurrently, recognition has grown across the Caribbean of the need for a fossil-fuel-free solution to the decades-old conundrum of intraregional connectivity and freight costs — incorporating the principal findings of the UWI – Schooner RUTH Caribbean Sail Cargo Initiative pilot.

03 · A scheduled network

A maritime railway timetable

Same route, same day, every week — six vessels, six complementary loops.

Alpha Zulu RoPAC scheduled wind-assisted route network map, routes AZ1 to AZ6
AZ1 route map — Mainland–Hub–Northern Link
AZ1 Mainland–Hub–Northern Link
Guyana – Barbados – Dominica – Barbados – Guyana
1,010 nm · 4 calls
AZ2 route map — Southern Windward Loop
AZ2 Southern Windward Loop
Trinidad – Grenada – SVG – Saint Lucia – Barbados – Trinidad
525 nm · 5 calls
AZ3 route map — Leeward Connection
AZ3 Leeward Connection
Barbados – Dominica – Antigua – Dominica – Barbados
560 nm · 4 calls
AZ4 route map — Windward Islands Shuttle
AZ4 Windward Islands Shuttle
Barbados – Saint Lucia – SVG – Grenada – SVG – Saint Lucia – Barbados
470 nm · 6 calls
AZ5 route map — Southern Mainland Loop
AZ5 Southern Mainland Loop
Guyana – Trinidad – Grenada – SVG – Guyana
900 nm · 4 calls
AZ6 route map — Direct Breadbasket Shuttle
AZ6 Direct Breadbasket Shuttle
Guyana – Trinidad – Guyana
306 nm · 2 calls
04 · Technology

Old idea, new engineering

The Caribbean trade wind is fast, free, and zero-emission. The engineering to command it precisely is new.

  • Fully mechanized, load-sensing rig — nobody hauls canvas, and rig loads are measured, not guessed.
  • Retractable electric propulsion, composite construction, and a hydrogen upgrade path without redesign.
  • Sensing suite: sea-state observation, wave-predicting radar, thermal imaging, multi-model weather routing and recursive learning.
05 · Autonomous & intelligent operations

Built for where regulation is going

  • Physical AI reacts. Agentic AI advises. Nature AI collects ocean data.
  • A human crew always in the loop — always — with unconditional override.
  • The IMO MASS Code is now operational regulation — in effect since 1 July 2026, with the mandatory Code targeted for 2030 adoption and 2032 entry into force. Alpha Zulu sequences its autonomy pathway against that real timeline: decision support from corridor go-live, remote-supervision degrees only as regulation, insurance and operational confidence mature.
  • Caribbean short-sea is a natural early jurisdiction — short repetitive routes, confined waters, one flag administration — with a Barbados MASS regulatory sandbox under BMTA authority, aligned with the IMO Experience-Building Phase.
  • Autonomy grows jobs here, not cuts them: roles shift from sea to shore — a Caribbean Shore Control Centre with higher-skilled supervisory, engineering and cybersecurity work — while total maritime employment rises.
  • Ocean OS ties vessel, shore, cargo, and weather into one live picture. MASS-ready from the keel up.
Alpha Zulu trimaran under sail, bow quarter view showing solar decks and staysail
Wind primary, solar across all three hulls, staysail set — the working configuration.
Alpha Zulu centerline section drawing showing sensor masts, electric motors, and hydrogen architecture
Centerline section — built for staged MASS autonomyTwin sensor masts carry duplicated communications and navigation — radar, GPS, SAT Phone, HF, VHF, FLIR and Starlink — over independent twin electric propulsion, with hydrogen fuel-cell provision ready for the day the green hydrogen chain, from production through regional bunkering to onboard power, becomes cost-effective.Initial hydrogen fit · 30 × 18.5 kg H₂ tanks · ≈555 kg at 700 bar · ≈8.5 t installedStowage · 8 + 8 + 8 + 6 in bilge bays below the cargo deck · IGF Code-designedQuiet electric endurance · 200 hours · 2,000 nm targetGrowth margin · Bays take 60 tanks without redesign
Alpha Zulu sail plan drawing, twin wingmast rigs with sail areas in square feet and metres
Alpha Zulu — side view, designed in Barbados by Ian Dash with multihull architect Kurt Hughes.
06 · Safety, security & resilience

Built for the region’s best days and its worst ones

Empty cargo hold of a large transport aircraft with its loading ramp lowered to the tarmac at dusk, roller floors and tie-down points visible
Ramp down, hold ready: a roller floor and tie-down points take pallets, containers and vehicles straight in — and out again in minutes, anywhere the shore allows, not only where a terminal stands. That is what makes relief dependable when a hurricane has taken the quays out.
“A vessel that can reach anywhere is also a vessel a region can depend on when it matters most.”
07 · Food & cargo security

Why the network exists

  • The Windwards import five to ten times what they export; produce spoils waiting for boats that don’t come.
  • Just-in-time logistics for islands: weekly scheduled sailings deliver fresh produce, agricultural, industrial and essential goods at the rate of harvest and consumption — not in bulk accumulations that spoil waiting for a ship.
  • Insulated, refrigerated compartments designed for produce, fish, and meat from first drafting — a zero-emission cold chain from farm gate to point of sale.
  • RUTH — fitted for fresh produce trade, proven in hurricane relief · in partnership with UWI/CAGRI · WUSC/GAC · UTT/MTCC.
08 · People & crewing

The network still runs on people in the loop

Degree 1–2 MASS operations, corridor go-live through the mid-2030s

A CDB-commissioned study found at least 80% of crews on the region’s inter-island vessels lack formal training — and fewer than one officer in ten holds certification. Blue Star Navigation’s free youth programme builds the pipeline; Alpha Zulu creates the demand.

Every vessel sails with a standing crew: fair watch rotation, international rest standards, real berths — and final authority over every AI system aboard.

Schooner Ruth, Barbados' Sailing Ambassador, and Blue Star Navigation Company — Caribbean Sail Cargo Initiative
The heritage marks: Schooner RUTH — Barbados’ Sailing Ambassador — and Blue Star Navigation, the initiative’s training arm.
09 · Network & economic impact

A real, growing market — chronically underserved

US$2.18BIntra-CARICOM exports, 2024 — up from US$145M in 1973
25–35%Potential cargo growth within three years of weekly packet service; around 40% for agriculture and agro-processing. AI-assisted planning estimate.*
3×Caribbean transport costs versus the world average
28,000 tEstimated CO₂ avoided annually on the six studied weekly loops
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals wheel
Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals through regional food security, resilient infrastructure and climate action.

* Planning assumptions, not published forecasts. Supporting research: World Bank, 2015, pp. 83–84; IMF, 2026, WP/26/95; USDA, 2025, Retail Foods Annual.

The trade already exists. Dependable scheduled packet services can carry it reliably—and create the confidence to grow more, produce more and trade more.

Library

Briefing papers, studies & reports

The documents behind the claims — for invited readers.

Letters

Official Recognition — Sustainable Economic Development (Shipping) InitiativeFormal endorsement of the programme as a climate mitigation solution: Schooner RUTH under the Shipping (Domestic Vessels) Act 2024 (≤150 GT), and Alpha Zulu (<500 GT) under the Marine Transport (Emissions Control) Act 2024 and the Merchant Shipping Act 2024.Barbados Maritime Transport Administration · 30 June 2026
OPEN PDF
UWI CFSE — Caribbean Sail Cargo Initiative, Letter of IntroductionThe founding document: the formal UWI–RUTH collaboration for food security, green economy and mariner training, a decade before the region’s carbon rules made it urgent.University of the West Indies, Cave Hill · 8 April 2015
OPEN PDF
Official Notification of Selection — “Caribbean Sail Cargo Initiative – ZEROe RoPAX” Demonstration Pilot Project (Alpha Zulu RoPAC)Formal notice that Champion Maritime Limited’s Alpha Zulu RoPAC proposal has been selected as a Pilot Demonstration Project under the IMO–EU Global MTCC Network (GMN) Phase II Project, with MTCC Caribbean and the IMO GMN Project Coordinating Unit now moving to a joint draft Terms of Reference.MTCC Caribbean · The University of Trinidad and Tobago · November 2025
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Reports

Green Logistics for Inter-Island TradeThe state export agency’s own model for a weekly wind-powered cargo service across the Windwards — linked by its CEO to the Green Industrialisation Gateway (GIGA).Export Barbados (EXIM) · March 2025
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Alpha Zulu Route Network — Port-to-Port Maps AZ1–AZ6The six scheduled loops with lane distances, three-year wind observations and route profiles. Barbados is the interchange hub. Not for navigation.RoPAC · Champion Maritime Limited · September 2026
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Briefs

Barbados Builds Its Own Trade RoutesThe Prime Minister’s call for Caribbean countries to build their own trade routes, completed: a route is ships, schedules and the ownership of both. The Southern Green Corridor with Guyana, Suriname and Northern Brazil, hulls built at Port Trident and owned in the Region, the first Alpha Zulu ships sailing in 2029 — and what is asked of the Special Envoy’s office at each phase to 2035.Champion Maritime Limited · 30 September 2026
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The Caribbean Packet Thesis — From Packet Schooners to Alpha Zulu RoPACThe founding argument: the region doesn't need to invent maritime connectivity from the beginning — it needs to restore the dependable packet-schooner principle of published schedules and direct island-to-island links, without the fuel dependency that made regional services costly.RoPAC · Champion Maritime Limited · September 2026
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Phased Regional Maritime Connectivity Mesh — Weekly RoutesSubmission to CARICOM, OECS and BMTA proposing complementary weekly round trips linking Guyana, Trinidad and the Eastern Caribbean, with Barbados as the principal interchange hub and a conservative phased fleet deployment from market proof to Alpha Zulu 5.RoPAC · Champion Maritime Limited · September 2026
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The Ship That Plants a Crop — Open Letter to the Prime MinisterA strategic note addressed to the Prime Minister of Barbados on how a Caribbean-owned, fossil-fuel-free shipping network can turn decarbonisation into reliable food logistics, stronger regional agriculture and progress toward CARICOM’s 25 by 2025+5 target.S.V. Ruth Limited · Caribbean Sail Cargo Initiative · 29 September 2026
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Alpha Zulu OceanOS™ — Discussion BriefAn AI-native maritime intelligence platform for sustainable island development — agentic and physical AI under human authority; an invitation to collaborate.RoPAC · Champion Maritime Limited · July 2026
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Alpha Zulu RoPAC ClassA programme brief setting out the Alpha Zulu RoPAC Class concept: a sub-500 GT intelligent hybrid wind-electric packet vessel for Caribbean SIDS, linking food security, disaster response, ocean stewardship and regional economic development.RoPAC · Champion Maritime Limited · July 2026
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Progressive Autonomy — Alpha Zulu and the IMO MASS PathwayThe four IMO Degrees mapped honestly across 2027–2050: the MASS Code timeline, the Barbados regulatory sandbox, the Shore Control Centre, and why autonomy grows Caribbean maritime jobs.RoPAC · Champion Maritime Limited · September 2026
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Search and Rescue & Disaster Relief Capability — Briefing PaperBeach landing, 100 evacuees, 64 stretcher berths, night search sensors — and why a working packet ship is the region’s most available emergency asset.RoPAC · Champion Maritime Limited · September 2026
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CARICOM Strong — Food Security and Decarbonised ShipbuildingA concept discussion brief proposing guaranteed regional markets for regional producers, linked to dependable decarbonised shipping and CARICOM’s Vision 25 by 2025+5 food-security mandate.Champion Maritime Limited · 13 September 2026
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Alpha Zulu RoPAC — Regional Marketing & Innovation ConceptA Caribbean-origin, high-technology sailing cargo platform for climate leadership, youth inspiration and export logistics.Champion Maritime Limited · 12 September 2026
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DISCUSSION — Caribbean RoPACDecarbonisation Driving Short Sea Packet Shipping under 500 GT.RoPAC · Champion Maritime Limited · 13 September 2026
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Studies

Schooner RUTH Caribbean Sail Cargo Initiative — Initial FindingsThe pilot's initial assessment: the existing inter-island cargo system is outdated and underserved, the fossil-fuel bill is the single most prohibitive factor for packet service — and the initiative provides the foundation for Alpha Zulu RoPAC.UWI CAGRI (formerly CFSE) · Champion Maritime Limited · September 2026
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A Seaworthiness Case for a Purpose-Built Ocean-Going Commercial TrimaranThe empirical record: 30–40 m trimarans through the Southern Ocean, the region’s documented sea states, and the design doctrine that follows.RoPAC · Champion Maritime Limited · September 2026
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Alpha Zulu Performance Polars — Load ConditionsPredicted sailing performance light and loaded — calibrated engineering estimates, pending the naval architect’s VPP.RoPAC · Champion Maritime Limited · September 2026
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An Economic Model of a Short Sea Shipping Service in the Southern CaribbeanA webinar presentation modelling a weekly ROPAX cargo-ferry service between Guyana, Trinidad and Barbados using the MV Cabo Star, with trade-flow analysis, vessel specifications, operating-cost estimates and projected annual revenue.Adrian J. Beharry, University of Trinidad and Tobago · 8 April 2024
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DRAFT Break Even AnalysisWhy decarbonisation is the only subsidy-free path to regional connectivity and food security: a weekly cash break-even comparison of the Galleons Passage trial ferry and the Alpha Zulu RoPAC across routes AZ1–AZ6, modelled cargo-only at $185 per pallet-leg.Champion Maritime Limited · September 2026
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