Hybrid propulsion for Swedish rescue craft

A new hybrid propulsion system has been supplied by Germany’s Torqeedo for a search and rescue vessel launched recently by the Swedish Sea Rescue Society.

The 14m-long composite vessel, Rescue Mercedes Eliasson Sanne, has a pair of 478-kW diesel engines with water jets, and dual Torqeedo Deep Blue 50-kW electric motors for a combined 118 kW-equivalent. The system includes two 10-kWh Deep Blue lithium batteries providing sufficient power for the vessel to operate silently and with no emissions for up to 1.5 hours at six knots.

Lars Samuelsson, head of the Maritime Department, explained: “We use the electric mode when entering and leaving port through Sweden’s environmentally sensitive waterways. The crew uses the diesel engines for high-speed runs out to the rescue location, then switches back to electric for search and rescue operations. It is crucially important to go quietly on the job since even the smallest sound can hinder the search for a missing person in the water.”