Turkish boat builder Sefine Shipyard has won a contract to supply Norwegian operator Boreal with five electric ferries, each equipped with two Volvo Penta D13 MG IMO III generator sets (gensets).
The ferries will operate to and from the islands in the inner Oslo fjord and run scheduled services throughout the day. The Multi Maritime-designed vessels will each have a length of 35m, a beam of 8m and two passenger decks capable of accommodating up to 350 people.
They will be built under DNV-GL classification regulations and while designed to run predominantly on electric power, should they need it, the vessels will be able to fall back upon range-extending power from an IMO III diesel solution.
The ferries will recharge at dockside where possible, with the batteries gaining additional electric propulsion provided from the gensets as required. The gensets connect to the ferries’ own control systems and are approved to run on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO – EN 15940), a fossil-free fuel that reduces carbon dioxide emissions and particulate matter by up to 90%. Volvo will start to deliver the gensets later this year, with the last due to be delivered by mid-2021. Each generator set will supply 265kWe electrical power.
They are to be operated by Boreal subsidiary Boreal Sjø under a long-term contract signed with local transport authority Ruter. The new service will commence in November 2021. The new ferries are part of Norway’s ongoing scheme to electrify all passenger transportation on its waters with the boats set to replace the operator’s current diesel fleet.