Finland’s oldest ferry converted to all-electric power

Föri ferry, the oldest operating ferry in Finland, has become the nation’s first all-electric passenger vessel after being fitted with an electric propulsion system. The Föri initially entered service in 1904 after the city of Turku commissioned local shipyard Aktiebolaget Vulcan to build a city commuter ferry to take passengers across the Aura River to Åbo. It was officially relaunched last month. Turku commissioned local boatyard Mobimar to complete the upgrade, and the vessel was dry-docked there in March this year. Mobimar oversaw the removal of the boat’s diesel-powered hydraulic motor and its old control system. The new installed system is 8 tonnes lighter, consisting of two Visedo Marine permanent magnet motor drives and two Visedo Marine DC/DC converters that control the ferry’s DC grid. The new vessel draws power from batteries that are charged overnight, with the new power system making it possible to run on one or two motors with uninterrupted operation. Mobimar project manager, Antti Immonen, said, “For such a sensitive project we needed a partner who could deliver a new permanent magnet motor and charging technology built for purpose. There was no off-the-shelf solution. We were already impressed by Visedo during a previous collaboration to modernise a Korean Mark V65 submarine. There are now 240,000 passengers who have dived to depth below the Yellow Sea in a submarine with a Visedo-powered system. And we used some of the same components in the Föri.”