Cargo Ferry Project
A new competitive and eco-friendly maritime transport concept, the Cargo Ferry project, has been presented. The result of more than two years of work, the concept has been developed as an alternative transport solution for containers that are carried for more than 200km on land. The project was presented on board Nor Lines brand-new LNG fuelled ship, the M/S Kvitbjørn.
The report presents a logistics solution, concept ship and market analysis, while also documenting the Cargo Ferry’s potential profitability. A group of 27 companies with interests and expertise in short sea shipping, led by DNV GL, Shortsea Services and Marintek, have cooperated to develop the report.
The main market for the Cargo Ferry concept is goods that are currently transported on trucks for long distances to and from coastal Norwegian towns. After conducting extensive customer analyses and interviews, the project has identified this market as covering some 17-20 million tonnes of goods each year. “The analyses show there is a significant potential market for a maritime-based logistics solution,” says Remi Eriksen, DNV GL Group Executive Vice President and COO.
The Cargo Ferry concept offers transport to and from destinations that are linked together by efficient maritime transport on four main routes, including distribution to and from ports.
Cargo Ferry is built around a concept for a new “lift on/lift off” (LoLo) vessel. With its own cranes and cell guides the vessel can carry 110-140 40-foot/45-foot containers. The ship has a service speed of 12-15 knots, is LNG-fuelled, has a battery for hybrid operation and can use shore power. As a result the vessel has an extremely low emission profile. It also operates without assistance from shore through the use of an automated mooring system.
By Jake Frith
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