Damen Shipyards Group has delivered five 2306 E3 ferries to Arriva Denmark in Copenhagen. Arriva will operate the vessels on behalf of Danish public transport agency Movia
Damen said sustainability was key to the vessel’s deisgn: Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) were applied to the hull design minimising resistance in the water. Software measured the relationship between engine torque and propeller speed resulting in optimised use of battery packs for reduced weight, energy consumption and operational costs.
The ferries are equipped for remote monitoring. A network of sensors are incorporated into the vessel and Damen’s remote monitoring department can set up a dashboard tracking sailing patterns, battery lifecycle and swell dynamics to allow for fine-tuning of the operation towards greater efficiency and reduced downtime for maintenance.
To comply with Movia’s requirement that 60% of the electricity for the operation comes from a sustainable source, Damen working with Echandia Marine, Heliox and Staubli, developed a method that takes seven minutes to charge the ferries at the end of each trip they make. The charging mechanism features an auto-mooring system to ensure a secure connection between the vessel and charging infrastructure.
Sales manager Martin Verstraaten said “This, in my opinion, is where Damen really add value to a project. Our involvement is not limited to the shipbuilding scope alone, we take responsibility for the entirety of the project.
We provide a focal point where all partners involved the project come together to fulfil their individual roles in alignment with one another.”
The company said the ferries will help reduce Copenhagen’s public transport NOX emissions by 2.5%, CO2 emissions by 10% and particulate emissions by 66%.
Damen continues to work on a number of hybrid and electric projects including two fully electric ferries for the Canadian market, four hybrid vessels, easily convertible to full electric propulsion in the future for BC Ferries in British Columbia, Canada and the world’s first fully electric harbour tug with 70 tonne bollard pull for the port of Auckland, New Zealand.
Details of the latest electric-powered vessel projects will be examined during Riviera’s Maritime Hybrid, Electric and Fuel Cells Webinar Week, to be held from 27 July. Follow this link for more details.
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