Hurtigruten eyes zero-emission ships in operation by 2030
Norwegian cruise ship operator Hurtigruten says it has built its last fossil ship.
PHOTO: Hurtigruten cruise ship sailing on in Norway. Hurtigruten
Hurtigruten’s future fleet will carry passengers along the Norwegian coastline – from Bergen to Kirkenes – without emissions, its chief executive Hedda Felin says.
Its ships carry goods and passengers between 34 Norwegian ports and is currently in the process of renewing its fleet to have lower emissions. Carbon dioxide emissions will be cut by a quarter, and nitrogen oxide emissions by 80%.
But its goal is to bring those emissions all the way down to zero.
As the Norwegian coastal routes are “tough” and will demand its ships to sail almost 24/7, the new zero-emission ships will need to handle these conditions, and over a 30-40-year lifespan.
“We simply don’t think they should or can be fossile,” Felin comments on the company's future newbuilds.
She says they have yet to settle on a specific fuel technology, but that Norway’s scientific, maritime and political support for green shipping makes the coastline and its ports well-suited for development of green energy infrastructure, including shore power in ports.
Hurtigruten has been working on a shipbuilding programme with research organisation SINTEF Ocean.
“Zero-emission fuel and propulsion machinery is an obvious focus area for the project. At the same time, the challenges of availability, production costs and energy density of green fuels will necessitate major cuts in energy consumption. Large-scale energy efficiency will probably be our biggest challenge,” says SINTEF marketing director Trond Johnsen.
