Incat completes roll-back of Molslinjen battery-powered ferry hull

Tasmanian shipbuilder Incat has finalised the rollback of Hull 102 at its Prince of Wales Bay shipyard as part of a three-vessel electric ferry newbuilding programme for Danish operator Molslinjen.

Incat said the successful rollback on the first newbuilding’s hull will allow for the installation of the passenger deck superstructures of the 129-metre battery-electric ferry.

"Hull 102 is one of three, 129-metre battery-electric ferries being built by Incat for Molslinjen as part of the world’s largest electrification project at sea. Once delivered, the vessels will be the largest electric ferries operating in Europe," Incat said.

Being built by Incat Tasmania in Hobart, Australia, what are known currently as hulls 102 and 103 will each be powered by a 45-MWh battery system. The ferries will have space for up to 1,500 people and 500 cars per crossing, with drive-through loading for rapid turnarounds.

The zero-emissions vessels will operate at 40 knots on 90-minute crossings with 30-minute, 58-MW charging available at each end.

Nordic Ferry Infrastructure, Molslinjen’s owners, placed the initial Dkr1.0Bn (US$157M) order for two battery-powered catamarans in July 2025, with ship operator Molslinjen saying a third ferry order was "in the works". Molslinjen confirmed the addition of the third vessel in the order in December 2026

Incat has built other vessels in Molslinjen’s wider fleet of fast ferries.

Once finished, the latest, all-electric, three-ferry fleet will operate across Denmark’s Kattegat routes between Aarhus–Odden and Ebeltoft–Odden, connecting Denmark’s Jutland and Zealand provinces and providing emissions-free transport on one of Denmark’s busiest domestic transport corridors.

Posting on its professional social media profile on LinkedIn, Molslinjen said the ’mega-catamaran’ ferries will make the company’s "entire Kattegat operation emissions free" from the first ferry’s launch. It is scheduled to enter Danish waters at the end of 2027, the second in mid-2028, and the third in early to mid-2029.

In total, Molslinjen said the price to build the trio of ferries and to supply the necessary charging infrastructure in the ferries’ ports of call is costing the company Dkr3.5Bn (US$546M).