Battery Ferries: Helios, China Zorrilla, & BC Ferries Compared - CleanTechnica

The article discusses three significant battery-electric ferry projects that highlight the rapid transformation of maritime travel through electrification. Viking Line’s Helios, expected in the early 2030s, is a fully electric ferry designed to operate on an 80-kilometer route between Helsinki and Tallinn, carrying 2,000 passengers, 650 cars, and substantial cargo entirely on battery power. Another pioneering vessel, the China Zorrilla, a high-speed electric catamaran built by Tasmania’s Incat for Buquebus, will serve the shorter Buenos Aires–Colonia del Sacramento route, covering about 93 kilometers. Both projects exemplify advances in battery-electric ferry technology aimed at reducing emissions and improving sustainability in maritime transport. In British Columbia, Canada, BC Ferries has contracted China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyard to build four hybrid-electric ferries to replace its aging C-class vessels. These ferries, designed as diesel-battery hybrids with plans to transition to full electric as shore charging infrastructure