HGK Shipping and Wattlab pioneer hybrid solar-powered inland shipping vessel

July 8, 2025, by Ajsa Habibic

Inland waterway shipping company HGK Shipping has joined forces with the Dutch maritime solar specialist Wattlab for what is claimed to be the world’s first hybrid solar-powered inland shipping vessel.

To that end, Wattlab delivered a solar energy system for HGK Shipping’s cargo vessel Blue Marlin. The installation of the system, consisting of 192 solar panels, took place at De Gerlien van Tiem shipyard in the Netherlands.

According to Wattlab, the solar panels will provide power to both the onboard and propulsion systems, making the Blue Marline the first inland shipping vessel capable of hybrid sailing with solar power.

This fully integrated setup enables ‘peak shaving’, where the combination of solar energy and batteries will prevent the need for activating an additional generator during high-demand periods. The system’s automated energy management will distribute electrical energy where and when it is required, increasing efficiency and reducing fuel consumption, Wattlab explained.

HGK Shipping and Wattlab have previously collaborated on a 135-meter-long dry cargo vessel, MS Helios, which entered the Guinness Book of Records for having the world’s largest solar panel installation on an inland shipping vessel. The MS Helios is equipped with 312 solar panels.

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Vessels

Unlike Blue Marlin, which features a more advanced, fully integrated system capable of contributing power directly to the ship’s high voltage electric propulsion, Helios was installed with a system using solar energy exclusively for low-voltage onboard (hotel) systems.

In addition to working on solar power solutions for inland shipping, Wattlab recently launched its new solar power solution for oceangoing vessels, targeting reductions in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

The solution, named SolarDeck, is a modular and scalable system of deck-mounted solar panels developed and tested on board Vertom’s 7,280 dwt general-purpose dry cargo vessel Annette, in a project co-financed by the European Union’s Just Transition Fund.