Scandlines hybrid ferry improves environmental performance

Danish-German shipping company Scandlines has put a complete seawater cooling system into operation on its diesel-electric passenger and vehicle ferry, M/V Berlin, to further improve its environmental performance. Installation on sister vessel M/V Copenhagen is currently in progress. Installed at the end of last year, Hasytec’s Ultrasound’s Dynamic Biofilm Protection (DBP) system optimises the hybrid vessel’s seawater cooling systems during the summer, when the temperature of the Baltic Sea increases and the vessel sails at a higher speed due to higher numbers of passengers. It is also said to lead to a reduction in maintenance. “Conventional ICAF [Impressed Current Anti Fouling] systems release copper – which belongs to the family of heavy metals – into the oceans. Our system will make these systems obsolete,” said Andreas Hoffmann, managing director, Hasytec. M/V Berlin and M/V Copenhagen have operated on the Rostock-Gedser route since 2016. Their capacity is 1,300 persons and 460 cars or 96 lorries each. Since the vessels’ deployment, Scandlines has achieved double-digit growth rates on this route.