Hybrid RoPax ferry is delivered
Texelstroom is one of the world's first hybrid RoPax ferries
Built by the Spanish shipyard LaNaval, the 135.40m-long, symmetrical ferry is powered by medium-speed dual-fuel engines from Belgium's Anglo Belgian Corporation (ABC). Texelstroom will ferry up to 1,750 passengers and 350 vehicles between the Dutch port of Den Helder and the Dutch Wadden Sea island of Texel.
The four main engines include two dual-fuel (CNG + diesel) generator sets that provide 2 MW each at 1,000rpm and two diesel generator sets that provide 2 MW each at 750rpm. For the dual-fuel engines, an air/gas mixture is injected in the cylinders and then compressed. A small pilot injection of diesel ensures the ignition. Natural gas (CNG) releases hardly any soot or sulphur dioxide during combustion, noted ABC, which develops and manufactures MDO, HFO and dual-fuel medium-speed engines in the power range between 600 and 5,200 kW.
According to the company, the powerful ignition makes it possible to work with different gases of low calorific value and fluctuating ignition quality. The operator has the ability, through rapid fuel conversion, to sail either on natural gas or diesel.
The ferry will generally sail using its dual-fuel engines every hour between 6am and 10pm. Texelstroom will use only one dual-fuel generating set during most of the approximately 20-minute crossing. A 700m² solar photovoltaic panel field on the ferry's roof generates energy that is stored in electric batteries and can be used at peak times for propulsion or electricity consumption aboard the vessel.
