Germany: Becker Marine Systems Develops LNG Ferry

The first emission-free “Wadden Sea ferry“ will start service in the European coastal waters in autumn 2013. The concept was developed by Becker Marine Systems in cooperation with renowned partners and will be implemented rapidly.

The environment is not just important concerning the topics Manoeuvering and Propulsion for the Hamburg ship supplier Becker Marine Systems. The company is facing their responsibility to reduce the emissions of shipping worldwide. The idea to develop an emission-free ferry with very low draught for the shallow European coastal waters was emerged by taking a closer look at the precious and fragile national park Wadden Sea near Hamburg. The working title of this draft is “Wadden Sea ferry“.

The newly developed “Wadden Sea ferry“ is a design of Ingenieurbüro für Schiffstechnik Ingo Schlüter GmbH & Co. KG and is exclusively powered by environment-friendly liquefied natural gas (LNG) with no particle emissions. The additional purchase of emission certificates makes it possible to offer a completely carbon neutral, “green“ ferry service. The environmental pollution of the sensitive coastal waters with sulfur oxides and exhaust gas particles will be reduced to zero for the new “Wadden Sea ferry“. The CO2 emission is reduced by 40%, the output of nitrogen oxides even by as much as 90%. Each passenger will not only benefit from a flexible booking system with guaranteed transportation for regular customers, but he will also make a contribution to the environmental protection by purchasing the ticket.

Becker Marine Systems, the classification society Bureau Veritas and the provider EON Hanse Wärme GmbH are well-known partners for the Ingenieurbüro für Schiffstechnik Ingo Schlüter.

The first “Wadden Sea ferry“ will start their journey in autumn 2013 already. The ferry is designed following the latest environmental guidelines and is about 70 m long and 14 m wide, has a very low draught and transports 250 passengers and 50 cars with a service speed of 11 knots.

[mappress]

LNG World News Staff, March 1, 2012; Image: Becker Marine Systems