Stena RoRo takes delivery of battery hybrid vessel from Chinese shipyard
- Published
by Admin
Stena RoRo recently took delivery of the 12th E-Flexer in a series of 15 battery hybrid RoPax ferries from Chinese shipyard CMI Jinling (Weihai).
The ship is the Guillaume de Normandie and is long-term chartered to the French shipping company Brittany Ferries.
In April next year, the ship will enter service on the Portsmouth – Caen route, replacing the Normandie, which has sailed the route since 1992. This is the fifth of five ordered E-Flexer vessels for the Brittany Ferries fleet.
Just as with four of the five E-Flexer ships that Stena RoRo has delivered to Brittany Ferries, the vessel will be powered by multi-fuel engines as well as the market’s largest battery-hybrid package of 12 MWh.
With these batteries, the ship will be able to operate in and out of port solely on battery power and even maneuver when docking and undocking without using the ship’s diesel engines.
This offers a unique technical solution that provides significantly lower CO2 emissions for the ship.
The E-Flexer concept has been continuously developed in line with future environmental requirements, and through its technical design and high degree of innovation, it can fulfill and exceed both existing and future international requirements.
The Guillaume de Normandie is also equipped with a shore connection with an output of 8 MW for high-speed charging of the batteries, which also enables a completely fossil-free stay when in port. With the installed battery capacity, the vessel can operate at speeds of up to 17.5 knots on batteries alone.
The ship’s engines can be powered by marine diesel (MGO), liquefied natural gas (LNG), biodiesel or biogas.
In addition, the PTI/PTO system with the Battery Power function can be used for propulsion at sea or maneuvering in port. The system is scalable, which means that in the future, the Guillaume de Normandie can operate entirely on batteries or with a combination of the different fuels.
Photo credit: Stena RoRo
Published: 8 January, 2025
