According to a press release by the firm Brittany Ferries published this week, Saint-Malo, the world’s largest hybrid ship will be coming in 2024. The 639-foot vessel will have a battery with a capacity of 11.5 MWh and will replace one of the firm’s older models on a route from St. Malo, France, to Portsmouth, England.
“Brittany Ferries is proud to be taking the lead in sustainable shipping, working with our partners to bring cleaner vessels to the regions in which we operate,” said Christophe Mathieu, the CEO of Brittany Ferries.
“Hybrid technology continues to move our fleet renewal program forward and will follow the introduction of two LNG-powered ships. From day one of operation, ports like St Malo in France and Portsmouth in the UK will benefit. Shore-side power capability means further benefits will be realized, as investment by ports in plug-in infrastructure allows.”
Saint-Malo will bring real-time energy optimization to improve efficiency and offer a smoother ride. The vessel will also have sustainable features.
Features such as optimized energy efficiency, hybrid power, and shore-side plug-in have the potential to give an improvement of up to 15 percent on greenhouse gas emissions compared with diesel propulsion – according to the ship’s engine and battery supplier marine specialist Wärtsilä.
The marine specialist, along with ship manufacturer StenaRoRo, is also engineering a second hybrid ship for Brittany Ferries. The two new hybrids will replace Bretagne and Normandie, respectively two of the longest-running vessels for the company.
“Stena wants to be a frontrunner in decarbonizing our fleet and, together with our partners, pushing developments towards zero-emission operations,” added Per Westling, MD StenaRoRo. “Hybridisation allows our vessels to be highly flexible as we adapt to future technology developments, including green fuels, fuel cells, bigger batteries, and solar or wind supported propulsion.”
“This order further strengthens Wärtsilä’s leadership in the hybrid segment,” added Hakan Agnevall, President and CEO of Wärtsilä. “The extensive battery size will allow the vessels to operate with full power, using both propellors and all thrusters to maneuver emissions-free in and out of ports, even in bad weather. The built-in shore power solution will charge the batteries while berthed.”
Brittany Ferries’ record-breaking achievement is expected to bring a shift in the industry by inculcating more environmentally-conscious engineering and reducing dependence on the existing carbon-intensive fleets.
