Hurtigruten Norway has launched its first environmentally upgraded battery-hybrid ship. The MS Richard With is the first of seven Coastal Express ships to be upgraded by the company.
As part of the upgrades, two large battery packs, each with a 1,120kWh capacity, were installed at the Myklebust Yard in northwestern Norway, alongside more efficient engines to reduce CO2  emissions. Hurtigruten has also fitted SCR systems to reduce NOX  by 80% and optimized the vessel’s hull to reduce drag and increase efficiency.
Each ship in the fleet already benefits from shore power capability to eliminate emissions in port when the infrastructure is available. The use of certified biofuels to run the engines will further reduce the vessel’s carbon footprint.
Following the upgrades, Hurtigruten Norway’s seven Costal Express ships will have emissions equivalent to the Tier III standard for NOXÂ Â emissions.
To create a more sustainable fleet, Hurtigruten Norway will spend €100m (US$96.8m) on vessel upgrades by early 2024.
“Over the next year, all our seven Coastal Express ships will be upgraded to be more sustainable,” said Hedda Felin, CEO of Hurtigruten Norway. “Becoming a green company means investing in efforts with documented effects, such as the ones we are doing now. As a result, by next summer we will have three upgraded hybrid ships sailing the coast, and our entire fleet will be more energy efficient, cutting CO2  emissions by 25% and NOX by 80%.
“Our goal is to get to zero emissions, and the work to plan the next-generation zero-emission vessels has already started. Until that technology has been pioneered, we are investing heavily in giving our existing fleet a green upgrade with the best technology available today, but our plan is to have the first emission-free ship in our fleet by 2030, and we’re working hard on achieving that,” concluded Felin.
