Greener river cruising on the Seine

The cutting-edge catering cruise ship, designed for daily passenger service, showcases the latest in vessel electrification, integrating a complete marine propulsion system developed by ePropulsion.

“Every component was selected, tested, and refined to meet the high demands of daily commercial service,” said Ricky Cole, technical director at ePropulsion, which developed the vessel’s marine propulsion system.

“Our liquid-cooled propulsion and energy systems represent the cutting edge of marine innovation.”

Green cruising

As the exclusive system integrator, ePropulsion delivered all propulsion and energy components to the project.

Bleu Seine, which hosts up to 130 guests for daily lunch and dinner cruises, relies on a fully integrated electric drive powered by five independent lithium battery clusters.

This modular design dedicates three battery banks to vessel propulsion and two to onboard hospitality systems, maximising uptime even in the rare case of a fault happening.

The marine propulsion system includes three high-efficiency permanent magnet motors, steerable thrusters with 360° vector thrust and real-time battery monitoring.

Compliant with ES-TRIN inland waterway standards, the system helps ensure, silent operation and rapid shore charging, reaching full charge in just two hours.

This project marks ePropulsion’s first venture into Europe’s large passenger vessel segment.

With over 50,000 electric propulsion units delivered globally, ePropulsion is looking to set new industry benchmarks for performance and sustainability across commercial marine applications.

Visit ePropulsion on stand Q8 at Seawork 2025