Italy's Liberty Lines expanded its order from nine to 12 of the 38m hybrid monohull passenger ferries designed by Incat Crowther, built by Astilleros Armon’s shipyard in Spain.
Each of the 12 new vessels will designed to have a flexible hybrid drivetrain and will have the ability to enter and leave ports at speeds up to 8 knots in zero-emission mode.
Delivery of the vessels -- each capable of a speed of 30 knots and able to accommodate 251 passengers -- is expected to take place between 2023 and 2026.
The main deck of each vessel features seating for 166 passengers, five bathrooms and a kiosk/bar amidships. The upper deck seats a further 85 passengers with an additional two toilets. Large luggage racks are situated throughout the vessel’s two passenger cabins, in addition to overhead luggage bins.
“With this project, we are making a sustainable investment in the renewal of our fleet, with the purpose to continue to offer high-quality services to our stakeholders and minimise environmental impact in order to achieve an emission-free future,” said Gennaro Carlo Cotella, CEO, Liberty Lines.
The ships will be equipped with Rolls-Royce integrated MTU hybrid propulsion systems, each comprising two 16V4000M65L engines, two gearboxes, two e-motors and electric systems, two variable-speed gensets, a battery system, switchboard, electrical power management system and an MTU hybrid automation system.
The advanced hybrid system will call upon different operating modes as required. In all-electric mode, the vessels will have no emissions to a speed of 8 knots. In hybrid mode, they can reach a high cruise speed when travelling across the sea, while simultaneously charging the batteries by the two main engines and deactivating the gensets for hotel load. During longer stops, the batteries are charged by means of the shore power supply.
