Our cooperative company

Investment benefits

• Yearly dividends up to 8% when vessel in operation

• One free day of sailing per share every year available on any sailing leg (value €67 = 6,25% yearly return). Can be accumulated and transferred to friends and family members

• Membership with voting rights in an ethical, cooperative company

• You become co-owner of the historical vessel Hawila

• Supporting Hawila provides education and work opportunities to many

• Exclusive offers on future cargo and merchandise

Questions & Answers

What is required to become an investor? After receiving our investor documents, simply fill in the application form where we ask for some manda­tory information, e.g., your name, address, and a copy of your passport.

What will I receive as an investor? Will I get dividends? Investors can receive annual dividends (estimated between 2% the first year, to 8% after 6 years of operation) based on yearly profit. Additionally, as a co-owner of the vessel, you will be granted one stackable day of sailing per year per B-share (value €67) to experience sailing with Hawila regardless of the company’s profit. For example, someone acquired 5 B-shares in January 2022, in 2024 this person would have 20 free sailing days onboard Hawila (3 x 5 shares per year = 15, + 5 days as early bird). Last, not least, the main purpose of investing in Hawila is to invest in a more ethical and green future. Your investment will help to steer the world towards a better future. You may not feel it in your wallet, but you may feel it in the food you eat, the air you breathe, the nature you see, the people you meet.

What do I gain from early investment? Early investors are crucial to the project’s development. Therefore, “early birds” are rewarded with additional sailing days on board Hawila. We will sell only a maximum of 150 shares, which is sufficient to complete refitting Hawila as a sailing cargo ship.

How can I sell my shares? Simply inform us by email, and we will help find someone to purchase your shares. Alternatively, the company is authorised to buy back any shares from its income. If you wish to sell your shares to someone specific, please inform us.

What happens to my investment if the project doesn’t come to fruition? If the project doesn’t come to fruition, we will consider selling our vessel Hawila as well as other assets. Once completed, Hawila’s worth is estimated at €850.000 (6.500.000 DKK), more than two times our estimated refit budget.

Why does Hawila ApS wish to avoid finan­cing through bank loans? We want our project to be owned by individuals, not by banks. We believe the changes the world needs are best achieved by individuals, united by similar values and visions.

When will you be ready to sail, and will there be more work afterwards? We’re aiming to sail by summer 2023, with frames and structure renewed on two third of the ship, new planking and new deck on 80% of the hull. With a wooden ship, there will naturally always be some maintenance work, and more work will take place in the coming years : refitting the stern quarterdeck and the galley, including a conversion of the engine to clean energy. This is accounted for in the running budget for the near future. Afterwards, only minor maintenance will be needed for decades to come.

How can you be certain you will succeed? We are a large and strong team of hard-working volunteers who have been involved in the project for nearly a decade. We have already acquired most of the timber to complete the refit of the vessel and are willing to use some of our personal resources if necessary. Our current scope for the refit is ambitious, as we want to perform vital improvements now, rather than having to re-open the ship later. But some of this work can be postponed by a few years if we face budget limitations, enabling us to earn the needed money in between.

How safe is this “old” ship? After completion of the structural overhaul, Hawila will have an unusually high level of safety for her size. Because she must carry up to 32 people safely, Hawila is designed to float if one compartment is flooded and to contain a fire for one hour, in any compartment. Additionally, she will be fitted with a fire alarm and sprinkler system, as well as an elaborate system of pumps. The vessel is already equipped with sufficient life rafts, life jackets, radar and radio communication devices, as per international standards.

Do you plan to restore more ships after Hawila? Yes, when Hawila will be sailing, we’ll make savings that we aim to use for restoring other vessels, to give them a new life as sailing cargo ships.

What makes you so sure that cargo by sail will become a commercial success? Cargo by sail is a growing niche market, catching on the spirit of the current times. For now, and years to come, demand for clean maritime shipping of organic goods outgrows the supply. We don’t have to compete for cargo, we actually are cooperating with the few other sail cargo operators.

How can such a small vessel be commercially viable? Hawila is about the same size as some of our successful partners’ sailing cargo vessels (Tres Hombres and Gallant), but she can carry nearly twice their amount of cargo thanks to her hull lines, which were designed for optimal cargo capacity. With similar maintenance costs, this gives us a clear advantage and economic security.

Is shipping cargo by sail not a step backward rather than forward? How can an old sail ship be a part of a future solution for maritime shipping? Using wind is for now the only readily available solution for CO2-free maritime transport, and it is generally accepted that the use of sails will play a major role in future CO2-free maritime transport solutions. Motor-driven ships can at best become carbon-neutral, but not CO2-free. The re-discovery and further development of traditional sailing skills is therefore a valuable asset. A good old sailing ship combined with modern technology such as satellite meteorology and navigation makes an extremely promising combination.

Is an old sailing ship really competitive regarding CO2, compared to modern, state of the art giant vessels? Yes: we spent quite some time researching the subject, calculating CO2 emissions from different sources onboard (mostly propulsion, energy and life), which show very good preliminary results. Our calculations gave us estimated CO2 emissions of 1/6th per quantity of cargo compared to the most advanced giant container ship (Triple E), and 1/12th compared with the average world cargo fleet. Further changes are planned, such as changing the energy source of the engine (for harbour manoeuvres only), with a final aim of zero CO2 emissions.

What happened to Hawila Project now that there is a cooperative company? Hawila Project is the majority shareholder of Hawila ApS and both work hand in hand to manage the educational and cultural aspect of the project. This allows us to do the necessary separation between our two activities: cargo on one side, education & culture on the other.

How is Hawila ApS structured? Hawila ApS is a limited liability company, controlled by a board of directors, which is elected by the general assembly of the voting shareholders. Voting shareholders are A- and B-shareholders. B-shareholders support the project through funding, A-shareholders through voluntary work. A-shares are designed so that the persons implicated daily for months or years in driving such a project must have a strong voice in its course.

How is Hawila Project structured, and what is the connection with Hawila ApS? Hawila project is a non-profit organisation, with a board, elected by the general assembly of its members. Membership is proposed to every person acquainted with the ship, sailing guests as well as regular volunteers. Hawila Project is the majority shareholder of Hawila ApS, and a partner in the events organized on Hawila. Some of the board members are shared between the company and the association.