On 26 March, the Stena Germanica, the world’s first methanol powered ferry, re-entered service after a couple of months’ intermission.
To mark the occasion two inauguration ceremonies were held, one on Friday the 27th in Kiel and the second one today in Gothenburg.
“We are very enthusiastic about methanol’s possibilities and it has the potential to be the maritime fuel of the future. We want to pursue change and development in the shipping sector and, with the Stena Germanica, our environmental impact will be completely different to what the industry has seen before ,” Carl-Johan Hagman says.
The conversion of the Stena Germanica was carried out in Gdansk, Poland, at the Remontova shipyard and it started up at the end of January and continued until the end of March. The project has received support from the EU’s Motorways of the Seas and has had a total cost 22 million euros.
Methanol is a biodegradable, environmentally friendly and cost efficient fuel that reduces the emissions of sulphur and particles by 99 percent. The ferry’s fuel system and engines have been adapted in the shipyard in a collaboration between Stena Line and Wärtsilä. The technology is called dual fuel – methanol is the main fuel, but there is the option to use MGO, Marine Gas Oil, as backup.
“Stena Line is steering a sustainable and particularly environmentally friendly course. We are proud that the route between Kiel and Gothenburg was chosen and that we are part of this outstanding pilot project,” says Dr. Dirk Claus, managing director of Seehafen Kiel GmbH & Co KG .