Following sea, port and refuelling trials, Brittany Ferries’ latest ro-pax ‘Saint-Malo’ is due to enter service between Portsmouth (UK) and Saint Malo (France) on 12 February.
Built in China to the Stena Roro E-Flexer design, this will be the largest hybrid vessel to enter service, and is part of the company’s major fleet renewal programme. The vessel is powered by LNG, by batteries or a combination of the two, leading to lower emissions at sea, and zero-emissions when manoeuvring and while berthed in port.
Like sister ship Guillaume de Normandie, Saint-Malo will be shore-power ready, allowing plugging in to the shore-side electricity grid when infrastructure allows. As well as powering systems on board (meaning engines can be turned off) the shore power will recharge batteries during layovers.
With 10 decks housing 387 cabins, Saint-Malo offers capacity for 1,290 passengers.
Image: ‘Saint-Malo’ in her home port (credit: Brittany Ferries/Jess-Breheret)
