The Polish shipyard Remontowa Shipbuilding has been awarded the contract to build a hybrid-powered car ferry for the Norwegian ferry operator Torghatten Nord.
The shipyard will build a fully equipped double-ended ferry for sailing in the Norwegian fjords. The ship will serve the Stornes-Bjørnerå route[ds_preview].
The ferry, construction number B 620, will be equipped with two azimuth thrusters with vertically mounted electric motors powered either by batteries or, in an emergency, by generators. As a rule, the batteries are charged during unloading and loading using shore power. This will happen relatively frequently, as a single ship crossing takes no longer than twelve minutes, says Remontowa.
Ferry to enter service in 2026
The ferry will be built on the basis of a design developed by The Norwegian Ship Design Company, supported by Remontowa Marine Design & Consulting. The ship is scheduled to be handed over to the shipowner in the first quarter of 2026.
The ferry will operate in the harsh environment of the Arctic Circle region. When designing the ship, particular emphasis was placed on the use of lightweight materials and a wide range of solutions and systems to reduce energy consumption as much as possible, it is said.
Remontowa wants to establish itself as a shipyard for electric ships
According to Remontowa Shipbuilding, it has already built a number of low-emission ships, most of which have already been delivered to the Norwegian market. The shipyard built eight ferries for Torghatten Nord between 2011 and 2013, including four with LNG propulsion. With the order for the ninth ferry for this shipping company, the shipyard is participating in the efforts to electrify the fleet and introduce environmentally friendly technologies in Norwegian local transport, the statement continues.
The contract with Torghatten Nord is a further step towards establishing the shipyard as a provider of battery-powered hybrid vessels. Between 2018 and 2021, Remontowa Shipbuilding built six electric ferries, four for Norwegian and two for British shipowners.
Technical data of the B620 ferry
- Length overall: 63.65 m
- Width: 15.50 m
- Depth to main deck: 4.80 m
- Passengers and crew: 149 people
- Capacity for cars: 50 cars
- Capacity for trucks: 6 units
