Remontowa Shipbuilding has announced that Festøya – a battery-hybrid car passenger ferry it delivered to Norled – has been awarded the Shippax Award 2021
Festøya is the first in a series of four ferries ordered by Norwegian ferry operator Norled, built to the LMG 120-DEH design developed by LMG Marin, and documentation prepared by Remontowa Marine Design & Consulting.
Remontowa said in a statement that Festøya “represents the new generation of battery-hybrid ships fulfilling very strict international regulations concerning levels of harmful emissions and is one of the most energy-efficient vessels in its class”.
Remontowa explained that in normal operation, the power is taken from two battery packs installed on board. The batteries are recharged from the land grid during the vessel’s stay at quay which typically lasts about 11 minutes. Therefore, the shipyard said a fast-charging solution is used to ensure the required state of charge of the batteries is maintained.
The shore-charging system is integrated with an automatic mooring system holding the ferry when at quay and giving the green light for the charging process to start.
Remontowa said, “The intention is to use the generating sets the vessel is equipped with (running on 100% bio-diesel), only in case of emergency. The electric system is, however, prepared to operate them alongside batteries, eg in peak shaving mode.”
The equipment on board was selected based on maximum efficiency criteria. Remontowa said “a good example are the thrusters which are pulling type units with integrated permanent magnet motors ensuring high efficiency even at very low loads and the state-of-the-art HVAC system.”
It added, “Also worth mentioning is the solution with the accommodation located below the car deck, which considerably improves passenger flow and adds to the overall vessel accessibility.”
The ferry complies with the rules and regulations of DNV and Norwegian Maritime Administration.
Festøya was delivered to Norled in June 2020 and commenced operation on the Festøya-Solåvagen connection a month later.
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