Scandlines’ battery-electric ferry has completed the first of two sea trials in the Sea of Mamara in Turkey. The €80m (US$90m) ferry features a 10MWh battery system, which can be recharged in 12 minutes at port, and produces no direct emissions during the crossing between Puttgarden and Rødby.
Emission-free ferry
Scandlines’ freight ferry is 147.4m long and 25.4m wide, with a design draft of 5.3m and a service speed of 16/10 kts. It has a freight capacity of 66 freight units (approximately 1,200 lane meters) and can carry up to 140 passengers.
Michael Guldmann Petersen, chief operating officer (COO) of Scandlines, said, “It will be a very big day for us when we see our new ferry arrive in Rødbyhavn, and we cannot wait to put her into operation. With our first emission-free ferry, we’re taking a huge step toward meeting our goal of operating with zero direct emissions on the Puttgarden-Rødby route by 2030.”
Sea trial timeline
During the sea trial, the Cemre shipyard tested the ship’s systems under load in cooperation with Scandlines and under the supervision of Lloyd’s Register. This followed testing of the ship’s auxiliary systems and inclining at the shipyard’s outfitting quay.
Rasmus Nielsen, vice president of fleet and administration at Scandlines, said, “During the 10-day sea trial, the ship’s batteries and electrical installations were tested. We also got to see the propulsion system in operation for the first time.”
Back at the outfitting quay, the remaining systems and equipment will be commissioned to test, verify and document that the ship fulfils the specified requirements. The crew has already been introduced to the ship in Rødbyhavn in Denmark and has been training at the shipyard where, among other things, all safety procedures were reviewed.
Once the ship has been commissioned, it will be handed over to Scandlines and will be ready to go to Rødbyhavn with some of its future crew at the helm. Stops are planned in Gibraltar on the south coast of the Iberian Peninsula and in Brest on the northwest coast of France. The ferry will be officially named at a ceremony in connection with its deployment on the Fehmarn Belt later in 2025.
In related news, construction of the €80m (US$89m) E/V Futura at the Cemre shipyard in Turkey entered its final phase in August 2024. Click here to read the full story.