Articles tagged with "electric-ferry"
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
energyelectric-ferrybattery-propulsionmaritime-electrificationhybrid-electric-ferriesclean-transportationsustainable-energyWorld's biggest electric ferry to connect Finland and Estonia by the 2030s
Finnish shipping company Viking Line has unveiled plans for Helios, the world’s largest fully electric passenger-car ferry, designed to operate emission-free between Helsinki and Tallinn by the 2030s. Measuring 640 feet long and 98 feet wide, Helios will carry up to 2,000 passengers, 650 cars, and two kilometers of freight. Powered entirely by batteries with a capacity of 85 to 100 megawatt-hours—several times larger than any existing passenger ship’s battery—the ferry will complete the 43-nautical-mile crossing in just over two hours at 23 knots. The vessel will recharge at ports using over 30 MWh of power per docking, supported by infrastructure upgrades underway at the Port of Helsinki. Helios is part of the FIN-EST Green Corridor initiative, aiming to establish a fully emission-free maritime route between Finland and Estonia. Viking Line, which has a history of maritime innovation including LNG/biogas-powered Viking Grace and the climate-smart Viking Glory, plans to order two such electric ships to double capacity on this busy route. Passenger traffic between Helsinki’s West Harbor and Tallinn is projected to more than double by 2040, with cargo volumes also rising significantly. Viking Line’s CEO Jan Hanses emphasized that emission-free technology is essential to meet growing demand while complying with tightening EU emissions regulations and rising carbon costs, marking a new era in sustainable maritime transport.
energyelectric-ferrymaritime-transportbattery-technologysustainable-shippinggreen-energyemission-free-transportationChina Zorrilla: How The World’s Largest Electric Ferry Changes Maritime Electrification
electric-ferrymaritime-electrificationsustainable-transportbattery-electricdecarbonizationrenewable-energyArgentina-Uruguay-connection