New Hamburg boat marks eco advance
A second Type 2020 passenger boat has joined leading Hamburg port operator HADAG, writes Tom Todd.
The 29.5m long and 8.4m wide Kehrwieder, built by local shipyard Pella Sietas, is described as having “particularly quiet, energy efficient and low emission propulsion”.
The newbuild, along with earlier HADAG Type 2000 boats of similar design and size are known locally as “Bügeleisen” because, with their raised one-man stern bridge, they look like floating flat irons. However, the resemblance ends there, because Kehrwieder is technically much more sophisticated than its predecessors.
The new boat draws 1.75m and HADAG said that despite being wider than earlier boats, it has an efficient new sub-surface hull design which helps to reduce water resistance and wake making. The wider hull also provides more space and accessibility.
Kehrwieder is the second Type 2020 to join the HADAG fleet. The company told Maritime Journal that fleet now totals 26 boats .They carry more than eight million commuters and visitors on the Elbe and on Hamburg inner city waterways and lakes every year.
The series prototype – the “future-oriented” Elbharmonie – went into service last year, also from Pella-Sietas. Company Chairman Tobias Haack said that boat “has already served HADAG well and proven itself in operation”.
He added that the second boat, along with the parallel retrofitting of other ferries in the HADAG fleet with waste gas treatment technology, represented “the next step along the road to an environmentally friendly fleet”. The company also told MJ “we expect to further increase the fleet over the coming years as demand dictates”.
Kehrwieder carries 400 passengers, 60% more than previous boats. It has two 370kW Scania DI 13 081M diesel generators and what makers SIEMENS describe as a flexible, compact, fuel-saving, long-life EcoProp system with Pella-Sietas optimised propeller drive. The two fixed propellers are from Schaffran, the rudder plant from Van der Velden and there are two 80kW bow thrusters and LED lighting on the boat. Heat is drawn from the engines and electricity from on shore. Since Kehrwieder has sulphur- free diesels, “there is no need for scrubbers” said HADAG but SCR units from Fischer-Abgastechnik are fitted, Maritime Journal was told.
