Bremen newbuild meets eco standards
German officials say a new ferry with mixed diesel and electric propulsion meets the same high eco-friendly standards as hybrid systems, reports Tom Todd.
The ferry, the 59.91m long and 13.99m wide Farge, has just entered service with Bremen operator Fähren Bremen-Stedingen (FBS). It is the latest of three operating FBS ferries and carries commuters and vehicles across the Weser.
The earlier ferries have six diesel engines but FBS Managing Director Andreas Bettray told Maritime Journal Farge has only three ScaniaType DI13 081M units. However in addition, he added, it has three Visedo Type PDR-Me-2100-T1900-DUAL diesel power generators which provide power to 52 Valence batteries driving four Schottel SRP 130 FP rudder propellers. Farge can operate for periods on electric power alone and is described as quieter, less prone to vibrate and easier to manoeuver than earlier boats.
Bettray reported that a Vorkat Type LT-HD soot particle filtration unit and a Type SCR-HD emission reduction plant were also installed on Farge.
FBS said both fuel consumption and emissions were significantly reduced on the newbuilding. And the owners of Farge – the city of Bremen and the local administrative district of Wesermarsch – said its “innovative hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system corresponds to the high environment demands placed on hybrid propulsion systems”.
Bettray told Maritime Journal that Farge was “the first hybrid passenger-carrying ferry of its size in Germany” and added: “This newbuilding, with all its technical innovations, represents a special challenge for us and we are proud of the project”.
Farge displaces 200 tons and carries 30 cars or six trucks and 249 commuters. It was developed and built by the SET Shipyard in Tangermünde on the River Elbe and its design has focussed on eco-friendly fuel-efficient operation.
The newbuilding is the most modern of three boats ordered and built by SET for the FBS and all have gone into service since 2011. The first of the three to be propelled by combined diesel and electric systems, Farge is not surprisingly reported to be the most expensive and is said to have cost €5.4 million. SET Managing Director Olaf Deter said “despite having some ideas in mind because of our yard’s experience with the earlier ships, we still had to rethink a lot of things”.
