Liberty Lines Commissions First High-Speed Ferry With mtu Hybrid System From Rolls-Royce
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Rolls-Royce.
These two bullet points act as sub-headings.
- Croat
This picture shows the first of the fleet.
This is the first paragraph.
On 27 June 2024, the Italian shipping company Liberty Lines ceremonially launched the world’s first hybrid fast ferry of this category and size in Trapani, Sicily, powered by an mtu hybrid propulsion system from Rolls-Royce. The 39.5 meter long ship has a capacity of 251 passengers, reaches a speed of over 30 knots and will significantly reduce the impact of ship operations on the environment. The “Vittorio Morace”, built by the Spanish shipyard Astilleros Armon and designed by Incat Crowther, is the world’s first IMO HSC (High-Speed Craft) hybrid fast ferry of this size and has been classified as a “Green Plus” ship by the Italian classification society RINA.
This ferry can truly be considered to be a Ship-of-the-World, with a design from an Australian-headquartered International company and German engines, that has been built in Spain.
This paragraph describes the power-train.
The battery-electric part of the drive is used for locally emission-free driving in the harbour area and as a booster. CO2 emissions are reduced by the particularly efficient mtu Series 4000 diesel engines which can also run on the renewable diesel (HVO, hydrotreated vegetable oil). Its use can lower the CO2 footprint by up to 90 per cent. Furthermore, the comparatively low overall weight of both the engines and the hybrid drive system contributes to high vessel propulsion efficiency, thereby reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
Over the last thirty years, I’ve been to several of the places served by Liberty Lines, so some excellent journeys, will be made faster, quieter and better.
The Anonymous Widower 
I went on Scandlines’ Puttgarden-Rodby ferry last month, which is also a battery hybrid, though still using diesel and not HVO https://www.scandlines.com/about-us/our-green-agenda/a-fleet-of-hybrid-ferries/ As that page shows, they also have rotor sails on the Rostock line, which longer distance ships are also experimenting with.
Good to see RR’s press release providing lots of technical details. Hope to see more ferries moving away from fossil fuels.
Comment by Peter Robins | June 28, 2024 |
U suspect these diesels are H2-ready. I’ve seen several of their CHP units stamped this way.
mtu may not be a British-based unit of Rolls-Royce, but they don’t hold-back on the branding.
Comment by AnonW | June 28, 2024 |