First car ferry powered by electric drive system
Design of the electric ferry
01. February 2013
| Editorial staff Ship&Offshore
Instead of a diesel engine, the ferry is equipped with electric motors to drive the ship's two propellers. The ship's batteries will be recharged in the breaks between crossings, a procedure which is said to take only ten minutes.
The ferry has been specially designed to accommodate the requirements of an electric drive system. As a catamaran with two slim hulls, it offers less resistance in the water than a conventional vessel. Furthermore, the hulls are made of aluminum instead of steel to reduce the vessel’s total weight.
From 2015 onward, the ferry will serve the route between Lavik and Oppedal, across the Sognefjord in Norway.
