Kongsberg Maritime cut CO2 pollution by 23% on the 121-meter passenger ship MS Richard With, owned by Hurtigruten, using energy saving technologies.
Kongsberg Maritime and the Myklebust Verft building worked together last year to turn three Hurtigruten ships into hybrid technology. As a result, the ship went through a major repair last summer and has now been back in service for a year.
Two hybrid shaft generators, two SaveEnergy 1,120kWh lithium-ion batteries, and two Bergen B33:45V engines were installed as part of the repair plan for MS Richard With. It also has digital management systems, new tunnel thruster motors, an azimuth thruster that can be retracted, and pitch propeller blades that can be controlled.
All of the technologies mentioned above resulted, according to Kongsberg, in a 23% emission cut. Furthermore, as Hurtigruten Coastal Express CEO Hedda Felin explained, it’s more environmentally friendly to retrofit a vessel than to scrap and build a new one.
We can do the full turnover of a vessel in four or five months. An entirely new build takes much longer
… agreed Geir Oscar Løseth, Kongsberg Maritime’s Vice President of Sales Aftermarket Advanced Offerings
To remind, During the 2023 GREEN4SEA Athens Forum, Mrs. Maria Tsompanoglou, Energy Performance Manager, Pantheon Tankers Management Ltd, gave a presentation on how the energy saving upgrade of vessels, especially older ones, is the way to go and the obvious solution to improve their performance.
