Volvo Penta to Supply Gensets for Five New Electric Ferries

Turkish boat builder Sefine Shipyard has won a contract to supply Norwegian operator Boreal with five electric ferries – each supported by two Volvo Penta D13 MG IMO III generator sets (gensets). The ferries will operate to-and-from the islands in the inner Oslo fjord and run scheduled services throughout the day. The Multi Maritime-designed vessels will each have a length of 35 meters, a beam of eight meters, and two passenger decks capable of accommodating up to 350 people.

The ferries will be built under DNV-GL classification regulations. And while truly electric, given today’s limitations in energy storage, should they need it, the vessels will be able to fall back upon range-extending power thanks to the best possible IMO III diesel solution from Volvo Penta. This will ensure schedules and passenger safety are never disturbed.

The ferries will recharge at dockside where possible, with the batteries gaining additional electric propulsion provided by the Volvo Penta gensets as required. They are to be operated by Boreal subsidiary Boreal Sjø under a long-term contract signed with local transport authority Ruter. The new service will commence in November 2021 and is set to end in 2034.

The new ferries are part of Norway’s stated intention to electrify all passenger transport on Norwegian waters. The boats will replace the current diesel fleet and, while not specifically conceived for the Volvo Penta range, have been designed to meet the latest IMO regulations. Volvo Penta’s Turkish team is helping with the installation and commissioning, made simpler by its compact design. The Volvo Penta gensets connect to the ferries’ own control systems and are approved to run on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO – EN 15940), a fossil-free fuel that reduces carbon dioxide emissions and particulate matter by up to 90%.

Sefine is racing to meet the contact’s tight deadline of having all five boats operational by 2022. Volvo Penta will start supplying its IMO III gensets later this year, with the last two gensets being delivered by mid-year 2021. Each generator set will supply 265 kWe electrical power.

“This is a very exciting contract win for us,” said Mehmet Belibağlı, Volvo Penta’s Sales Manager, Marine Commercial in Turkey. “Working in Oslo’s fjords is prestigious and gives a high profile to Volvo Penta’s IMO III solution – and our ongoing ambitions to promote electrification and sustainable propulsion systems.”

“Our Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) based IMO III gensets are extremely compact,” said Jacob Vierø, Sales Project Manager at Volvo Penta. “Not only that, our system offers greater efficiency, as they are designed from the start to work together. This ‘one stop shop’ approach allows us to package all the componentry tightly, ensuring easy installation and maintenance.”