A series of four zero-emission and autonomous ferries to be built by Turkish Tersan shipyard for Norwegian ferry operator Fjord1 will be propelled by Schottel EcoPellers.
The double-ended vessels are said to be the first of their kind. Norwegian HAV Design will deliver the ship design and an engineering package. Two electrically driven Schottel SRE 340 EcoPellers will be installed in each of the 120m long and 18.6m wide vessels. The thrusters will be of the embedded L-Drive version, which significantly reduces the installation height. By eliminating the upper gearbox, mechanical losses are further reduced. Together with a high hydrodynamic efficiency, this results in significantly lower energy consumption and therefore lower battery capacity, which in turn reduces opex and capex – all of which underlines Fjord1’s focus on efficiency, sustainability and continuous innovation.
The omission of the upper gearbox brings another significant benefit: reduced vibration and noise levels, which considerably improve passenger comfort on board. Each unit has a propeller diameter of 2.1m and an input power of 1,200kW. The thrusters will be equipped with Schottel’s condition monitoring system MariHub to enable condition-based maintenance.
Fjord1’s new autonomous ferries will improve connectivity on the Lavik-Oppedal route, with the aim of providing passengers with a seamless travel experience. Each vessel will have a capacity of 399 passengers including crew and 120 passenger cars. To replace manual functions with a high degree of autonomy, a land-based control centre is planned to monitor and potentially remotely control the ferries.
The ferries will be deployed across the Sognefjord, approximately 60 miles north of the city of Bergen on the west coast of Norway. Beginning September 2026, the zero-emission ferries will operate between Lavik and Oppedal, Norway. Implementation of automation functions and autonomous systems, including auto-crossing and auto-docking, will take place in 2027, while autonomous navigation will be implemented in 2028.
Image: Schottel-powered autonomous electric ferries for Fjord1 (source: Schottel)
