Wärtsilä to supply hybrid propulsion tech for Stena RoRo’s vessels
The ships will be chartered to Brittany Ferries to sail between Portsmouth, UK, and the French ports of St Malo and Caen.
Finnish technology company Wärtsilä has received a contract to deliver its hybrid propulsion system for three new RoPax ferries under construction for the Swedish firm Stena RoRo.
The new ships will be chartered to Brittany Ferries under a long-term agreement to sail between Portsmouth, UK, and the French ports of St Malo and Caen.
They will be designed and developed by Stena RoRo and Brittany Ferries.
Of the new vessels, two will feature 11.5MWh batteries that are said to offer nearly double the power presently used for hybrid propulsion.
Previously, Wärtsilä received a contract for the delivery of a range of solutions for the vessels.
The solutions include main and auxiliary engines, gearboxes, controllable pitch propellers (CPPs), thrusters, fuel gas supply system, Nacos navigation, and automation, in addition to an integrated control alarm and monitoring system.
The RoPax vessels will be able to run on either liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel or batteries.
Furthermore, the ships will have the latest generation Leclanché energy storage system, called Navius MRS-3. The system is claimed to have a size and weight advantage over comparable marine batteries.
According to Wärtsilä, Hybrid ships can incorporate different vessel systems and enable real-time optimization of the onboard energy system.
Wärtsilä president and CEO Håkan Agnevall said: “Hybridisation is one way of shaping decarbonization of the marine industry. This order further strengthens Wärtsilä’s leadership in the hybrid segment.”
Earlier this month, Wärtsilä was selected to provide its hybrid propulsion technology for Eastern Pacific Shipping’s 11 new pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) vessels.
