Fjord1 Orders Seven Battery-Powered Ferries with Havyard

Havyard and Fjord1 will thereby continue their partnership to achieve a green revolution on the Norwegian fjords.

With this contract, Havyard Group has orders for 13 battery ferries at its own yard and has sold 12 battery ferry designs. 

All the ferries must meet stringent requirements for low energy consumption during though weather conditions, and the design department in Havyard has placed high importance to this during the development of these designs 

"We have put the ferries in operation by using advanced simulation tools, this way we could optimize them to the outmost. Various operating profiles have been tested and reviewed, and we have achieved results that have made Fjord 1 choose us as contractor for designs, says Stig Magne Espeseth head of Havyard Design & Solutions.," said a statement.

The energy consumption requirements were not the only challenge to overcome. The competition to win the construction assignments has also been tough. Several yards both in Norway and abroad have competed for the contracts, and Sales Director Lars Conradi Andersen was happy to win the order to build five of the ferries at the company’s own yard.

"The competition for these assignments was tough, and we get nothing without a fight. The combination of product, delivery time and price was what won us the contract this time and we look forward to continuing our cooperation with Fjord1," it said.

The ferries will be used by Fjord1 to operate ferry services in Hordaland and Møre og Romsdal, starting on 1 January 2020. Fjord1’s modernisation of the fleet is unique in the global context and is a result of the company winning a number of tender competitions where minimum emission requirements had to be met. 

The Norwegian authorities have demanded zero-emission technology solutions as part of the effort to reduce emissions from the ferry fleet, which has taken Norway to the forefront of developments in the field.

CEO of Fjord1, Dagfinn Neteland, says that these contracts confirm Fjord1’s leading role in the green shift on the Norwegian fjords.

"We continue to set new standards, and are pleased to be able to make local procurements in the form of Norwegian designs and ferries built in Norway, while also taking a leading role in the green revolution," he said.

The construction contract applies to five 50-car ferries which will operate in the Langevåg-Buavåg and Fedje-Sævrøy in Hordaland, and one on Kvanne-Rykkjem and and two at Edøya-Sandvika in Nordmøre. The design contract of the two 80-car ferries will operate in Seivika-Tømmervåg in Nordmøre.