The world’s first fully electric car ferry “Ampere” is now for sale in Norway. According to the commissioned ship broker J Gran & Co, the double-ended ferry is currently being offered exclusively on the market.
According to estimates by industry observers, a sales price of around NOK 200 million (approx. € 17.7 million) is expected. The price would therefore be almost on a par with the original new-build price.
The “Ampere” began operating on the Lavik-Oppedal route in the Sognefjord in February 2016 and is considered a milestone in the electrification of ferry traffic. The ship was built by Fjellstrand in Omastrand and the electric drive system was supplied by Siemens in Trondheim. The 81 m long and 21 m wide ferry can carry up to 120 cars and 350 passengers.
At the time, the tender for the route between Lavik and Oppedal called for an innovative environmental solution and thus gave the starting signal for the large-scale use of electric ferries in Norway. According to Norwegian media, 84 battery-electric ferries are now in operation on 57 routes across the country.
Shipping company Fjord 1 has now been awarded the contract for the busy Lavik-Oppedal route, one of the country’s largest ferry connections with around 1.2 million car units per year, for the period 2026 to 2034. The new contract covers four ships and the introduction of extensive automation solutions from 2027, including land-based control centers for monitoring and remote control of the units.
