Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - 14:55 by ce-press
On April 19 tourist ship owner and operator The Fjords took delivery of a vessel it believes sets new standards for environmentally-responsible passenger transport.
Future of the Fjords - a 42m-long, carbon fibre, 400-passenger, all-electric catamaran - begins operating in mid-May. She will make around 700 yearly roundtrips along the Unesco World Heritage-listed fjord route between Flam and Gudvangen. It is the first vessel of its kind to offer completely emission-free transport through the beautiful yet fragile western Norwegian landscape.
Future of The Fjords is the sister ship to Vision of The Fjords, a diesel-electric hybrid launched in 2016 but the newcomer is very different. The NOK144m (€15.1m) vessel is propelled by two 450kW electric motors, enabling cruising speeds of 16 knots along the spectacular 90-minute each-way voyage. In another first The Fjords has, in partnership with the shipyard, developed a unique charging solution called the power dock.
This 40m-long, 5m-wide floating glass fibre dock will sit in the water at Gudvangen, housing a 2.4 MWh battery pack. This charges steadily throughout the day via connection to the local grid network, which does not have the capacity to charge the Future of The Fjords directly. The innovative solution allows the vessel to efficiently and cost effectively refill in just 20 minutes.
The dock also stores consumables, fuel for sister vessels, and allows blackwater to be offloaded for treatment on land. This makes Future of The Fjords the only passenger vessel not to discharge sewage directly into the fjords.
The Fjords ceo Rolf Sandvik commented: “We now hope Future of the Fjords can become a benchmark for environmentally responsible vessel operators worldwide, ushering in a new breed of clean, green and spectacular passenger transport.”
