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Zero-emission coastal vessel: Hurtigruten shows the first concept sketches

Photo: VARD Design

Just over a year ago, Hurtigruten pushed ahead with Norway: The Scandinavian shipping company announced its first emission-free coastal ship for 2030. In other words, a cruise ship that transports guests and goods up and down the coast of Norway on the traditional mail ship route – and emits neither sulphur dioxide nor carbon dioxide, soot particles or nitrogen oxides. Since then, the »Sea Zero« project has been gradually concretized, and now the company is showing the first concept sketches.

The designs show a streamlined ship – and above all: three sails that, according to Hurtigruten, will be retractable and equipped with solar panels. The use of wind energy is to be combined with 60-megawatt batteries, which are charged in the ports of the route and whose charge level is displayed on the outside of the 135-meter-long ship. Artificial intelligence (AI) improves maneuverability, in addition to counter-rotating propellers and several retractable thrusters. "Based on an aircraft cockpit, the AI will also collect data to optimize the docking process," the company says.

The shape of the ship ensures lower air resistance and thus lower energy consumption. On board there will be room for up to 500 guests in more than 270 cabins and for 99 crew members. Cruise passengers will be able to influence their own climate footprint to a certain extent: they will use a mobile app to regulate cabin ventilation and measure their water and energy consumption.

More on the subject

  • Hurtigruten boss Daniel Skjeldam: "We have to come to terms with the fact that holidays will become more expensive"An interview by Antje Blinda

  • On the way on the cruise ship »Havila Capella«:Battery battle in the fjordsBy Antje Blinda

  • Sustainable cruise:Once Arctic by battery, please, at least a little bitBy Julia Stanek

"When we launched the Sea Zero project over a year ago, we were faced with the challenge of not knowing what technologies would be available to us in 2030," says Hedda Felin, CEO of Hurtigruten Norway. "Some technological solutions already exist, but still need to be further developed to ensure their successful use in shipping. Some ideas are still in their infancy and require comprehensive further development steps.« Within a few years, the shipping company wants to build a ship "that surpasses all others in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability".

The mail ship operators have advantages over other shipping companies due to their location and route. "We want to take advantage of the fact that the ships move along the coast with many stopovers and that we have a lot of green electricity in Norway," Daniel Skjeldam told SPIEGEL a year ago. In his home country, there are already the first emission-free ferries. "But it's a very long way from a ferry that travels 30 minutes over a narrow passage to a ship that has to be big enough to handle rough seas, open passages and longer distances."

The "Sea Zero" project, which Hurtigruten launched together with the Sintef research institute and other Norwegian shipping companies, is funded by the "Green Platform" initiative with 6.7 million euros. The Norwegian initiative supports projects that address green growth and restructuring through research and innovation and contribute to reducing emissions. According to Hurtigruten, only 0.1 percent of all ships worldwide have zero-emission technology.

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