Battery Bank News

ABB has been selected by the Astilleros y Servicios Navales S.A. (ASENAV) shipyard based in Chile to provide a power and propulsion system for Antarctica21’s newbuild boutique expedition ship Magellan Discoverer. Due for delivery in 2026, the vessel is the first hybrid-electric polar cruise ship featuring Azipod propulsion to be built in the Americas. Accommodating up to 96 passengers and 67 crew members, the vessel will be operating in the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia and…

Baltic Workboats announced it recently signed a contract to design and construct a new multipurpose vessel for scheduled delivery to the Estonian State Fleet in 2026.The new workboat will be deployed for regular buoy tender works, maintenance of waterways, scientific research, pollution monitoring and response and search and rescue missions in Estonian waters.Notably, the vessel will be Estonia’s first 100% alternatively fueled workboat that will use sustainable biomethane as the main fuel.

The first hybrid Platform Supply Vessel (PSV), which uses batteries and diesel for propulsion, has started operating for Equinor in Brazil.With the battery bank installed, the PSV is able to operate with hybrid propulsion, switching between the use of electricity and diesel. This is expected to reduce emissions by up to 40% during vessel’s activities.The PSV will be part of the logistics of the Bacalhau field, in the Santos Basin, where Equinor has a majority stake secured in…

Scandlines’ new zero direct emissions freight ferry has been launched at the Cemre Shipyard in Turkey.The ferry will be name Futura and deployed on the Fehmarn Belt between Germany and Denmark (Puttgarden-Rødby) in 2024. It will have a 10MWh energy storage system, the world's largest lithium-ion battery bank to date, which has been supplied by Swiss manufacturer, Leclanché.The 8.6 meter high ferry charger tower, developed by the German company, StemmannTechnik, is being prepared for installation at ferry berth 3 in Denmark’s Rødbyhavn.

Shipbuilder Chantier Naval Forillon in Gaspé, Quebec has received an order to build a new Near-Shore Fishery Research Vessel (NSFRV) for the Canadian Coast Guard.Expected to join the Canadian Coast Guard fleet as early as 2027, the new vessel will be the agency's first-ever diesel-electric hybrid vessel with a battery energy storage system, designed to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels.Announced last week by Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard…

Any commentator on the maritime business decarbonization voyage will offer something along the lines of "There will be multiple fuels…" With the International Maritime Organization (IMO) meetings of its Maritime Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) set for early July, it is likely that targets for emissions will be tightened. Whatever mileposts that the IMO actually establishes, there will be no prescriptions handed down on how to get there. By mid-2023, nearly two years after the late 2021 alternative fuels crescendo in the aftermath of the COP26 meetings in Glasgow…

RINA awarded an Approval in Principle (AiP) for a green retrofit package solution designed by Aurelia, in partnership with Econowind, Wattlab and Vertom, aimed to meet CO2 reduction targets in compliance with CII. The retrofit package can be applied to almost any kind of vessel and incorporates rigid sails, solar panels, batteries, optimized weather-routing, and a smart decision support system developed by Hydrographic and Marine Consultants (HMC) to dramatically reduce emissions of an existing Newcastlemax bulk carrier.

RINA has awarded an Approval in Principle (AiP) for a green retrofit package designed by naval architect Aurelia in partnership with Econowind, Wattlab and Vertom.The solution incorporates rigid sails, solar panels, batteries, optimised weather-routing, and a smart decision support system developed by Hydrographic and Marine Consultants (HMC) to dramatically reduce emissions on an existing 203,000dwt Newcastlemax bulk carrier.For the Newcastlemax bulk carrier, the challenge was to meet EEXI and the CII index for the reduction of CO2 emissions.

Belov Engenharia Shipyard, located in Salvador, Brazil, delivered the first Robert Allan Ltd. designed RApide 2000-E pushboat – HB Poraque. It is the first of two battery/diesel electric vessels for Hidrovias do Brasil S.A. HB Poraque is a battery electric shallow draft pushboat, with a second vessel, HB Enguia, due for delivery in May 2023. The vessels will provide terminal assistance in the Amazon River system and can perform their core operations purely on battery power.The RApide 2000-E designs are fitted with a DC grid diesel-electric propulsion system…

UK-based marine electrical engineering company MJR Power and Automation on Tuesday announced the successful harbor trials of its platform-mounted automated offshore power and charging system.The offshore power and charging system is designed to convert energy delivered directly from the offshore wind farm, and enable all heavy hybrid and electric crew transfer vessels and other offshore support vessels to connect and get powered by electricity generated directly by offshore wind…

NY Waterway announced plans to repower four more of its older ferries, transitioning from traditionally diesel driven units to hybrid technology before eventually operating on pure electric.The private company, which runs ferry and bus service in the Port of New York and New Jersey and in the Hudson Valley, was awarded $7.298 million in grant funding for the project through the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Passenger Ferry Grant program with the support of NJ TRANSIT.Each ferry upgrade consists of removing all main engines and generators…

Finnlines’ second new Superstar passenger-freight vessel, Finncanopus, was launched on Friday at the China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Weihai. The new Superstar class ro-pax vessels, along with sister vessel Finnsirius launched in August 2022—both part of Finnlines’ €500-million investment program—will enter service in 2023, serving the Naantali–Långnäs–Kapellskär route between Finland, Åland Islands and Sweden.Both vessels have capacity for 1,100 passengers, which is the double compared with the current vessels on the route. Each vessel has 323 passenger cabins and 64 crew cabins.

Turkey's Cemre Shipyard held a launch ceremony for the newbuild trawler Selvåg Senior being constructed for Norwegian owner Sørheim Holding.Developed in partnership with Skipsteknisk and Selvåg AS, the 79.5-meter-long Selvåg Senior purse seiner trawler will be the third in the world to use liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel, after the Cemre-built Libas and Sunny Lady.Thanks to the LNG fuel system, the new trawler will adapt to the new "environmentally friendly" vessel flow by reducing carbon emissions being in accordance with IMO Tier III.

There's an “electrification of the seas” happening for navies around the world.Whether it's to achieve greater military capabilities, operational economics and efficiencies or to be better stewards of the environment.There's a trend moving from direct mechanical drives towards more flexible electrical propulsion systems. Ships can still have the same propellers and engines, but they now have a much more flexible power system architecture that benefits design, operations and sustainment.“With an electric propulsion system, we can connect to the same gas turbine or diesel.

The Netherlands-based VETUS has introduced in the U.S. what it claims is the world’s most powerful DC thrusters.Unveiled at this year’s Miami International Boat Show, the new BOW PRO Boosted 300 series are the highest output thrusters yet in VETUS’s lineup of advanced BOW PRO units, which boast innovative DC-to-DC charging technology, quiet operation, precision proportional control and long runtimes.Chris DeBoy, U.S. President, VETUS MAXWELL, said, “The BOW PRO Boosted units combine features like the unlimited runtime…

Incat Crowther inked a deal to design an Incat Crowther 32 hybrid-electric ferry for Fullers360 of Auckland, New Zealand. To be built by Q-West, the ferry will be the designer’s sixth from the builder and will join 10 other Incat Crowther ferries in the Fullers360 fleet.Designed specifically for the Devonport route, the vessel will provide an efficient, low emission, quiet service between Auckland and Devonport. Flexibility is provided by an enhanced capability to operate on other routes on the network.

Sea Change - America’s first hydrogen powered ferrySWITCH Maritime’s new 70-foot passenger ferry Sea Change is navigating uncharted waters as the United States’ first zero-emissions, hydrogen fuel cell-powered, electric-drive ferry.The pioneering aluminum newbuild, constructed by Bellingham, Wash. shipbuilder All American Marine, Inc. (AAM), has been completed and was launched this summer, though permitting of hydrogen fuel systems for maritime vessels is still being worked out with the U.S. Coast Guard.“Legislation and laws for passenger safety did not exist yet for this type of vessel.

Alternatives to fossil fuels are emerging throughout the maritime universe, and vessels working in U.S. rivers, waterways and harbors are at the cusp on this trend. While the alternative fuels spectrum is wide, battery power and electrification—a technology that has seen a decade of shipboard applications already—is particularly suited for smaller vessels.Crowley Maritime Corp will be taking delivery of a completely electric tugboat, dubbed eWolf; the boat- which will include kit for advanced vessel control tied to an electric propulsion system from ABB…

South American logistics operator Hidrovias do Brasil S.A. has ordered a fleet of diesel/battery electric pushboats from Belov Engenharia Shipyard, in Salvador, Brazil. Construction has commenced, and the first vessel is scheduled for delivery in 2022.Designed by Robert Allan Ltd. of Vancouver, B.C., Canada, the innovative vessels are expected to be the world’s first battery electric shallow draft pushboats when they begin operating to provide terminal assistance in the Amazon River system.The new vessels are of the RApide 2000-E design…

Kongsberg Maritime (KM) said it will supply an equipment and simulation package for the maritime training vessel MS Gann, helping both to reduce the vessel’s emissions and enhance the education offered on board. The contract, worth 41.2 million NOK, is part of an extensive refit and will include KONGSBERG’s SAVe Energy battery system and hybrid shaft generators, in addition to power management, propulsion control and monitoring systems.MS Gann – which ran passenger services along…

German propulsion systems manufacturer SCHOTTEL said it has been awarded a contract to deliver SCHOTTEL EcoPellers and PumpJets for two new autonomous RoRo ships. They will be operated by ASKO Maritime AS, Norway’s largest grocery wholesaler, and built at Cochin Shipyard (CSL) in India. Both vessels will have full battery-electric propulsion and are designed for transporting trailers across Oslo Fjord between two of ASKO’s distribution centers.Kai Just Olsen, Director of ASKO Maritime…

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm Knud E. Hansen has introduced a new 144-meter-long icebreaking expedition cruise vessel design with accommodations for up to 300 passengers in 150 cabins.Designed to achieve a service speed of 17 knots in open water, and with the ability to operate in solid multi-year ice of 1.8m thickness, the vessel has diesel electric propulsion, and two azipod-units, each 7.5 MW. The six generators have a combined power of approximately 23 MW and are fueled by a combination of marine diesel oil (MDO), and natural gas (LNG).

One can hardly read industry news these days without seeing mention of hybrid vessels or batteries. We’ve all heard the praise and the pitfalls discussed by proponents and critics alike. This article is not intended to convince you if batteries are right for you or not. Instead, for owners wondering if batteries are feasible for their operation, the optimal vessel characteristics and operational parameters for all-electric vessels are presented and discussed.Hybrid vessels, generally defined by having both a diesel engine and batteries…