HH Ferries Group says Tycho Brahe has docked at the shipyard in Landskrona for completion of the remaining conversion and installation works to ensure that the ferry can be recommissioned as a fully battery-operated vessel on the Helsingborg-Helsingör route by the end of June.
Tycho Brahe was decommissioned on Tuesday 18 April and will return as a battery-driven ferry before the summer season begins. Aurora is scheduled for docking for completion when the summer season draws to a close. Mercandia VIII replaces Tycho Brahe and Aurora during their respective dockings.
“To maintain the high regularity and precise departures every 15 minutes through the majority of the day, Mercandia VIII is commissioned between Helsingborg and Helsingör during Tycho Brahe and Aurora’s dockings,” said CEO Henrik Rørbæk, HH Ferries Group.
That entails unchanged operation of four ferries on Helsingborg-Helsingör, which ensures that customers will not experience changes in timetable or regularity.
Tycho Brahe is scheduled for full recommissioning on the route on 23 May at which point a thorough test programme will be conducted before the conversion to full battery operations is completed.
“The process of installing batteries for forward propulsion now reaches its final phase, and we are looking forward to introducing battery operations as the first operator in the world with such a high-frequency timetable. The reduced emissions following from the conversion will have a positive impact on the environment in the entire Öresund region,” said Henrik Rørbæk.
It is an inherent part of HH Ferries Group’s strategy to emphasize initiatives with a positive environmental impact. Since 2007, the ferries between Helsingborg and Helsingör have adhered to the emission regulation introduced on 1 January 2015. With the installation of batteries, the route’s total emissions of CO2, carbon monoxide, sulphur oxide and particles are reduced by more than 50%.
The conversion of the two ferries is the largest single investment project in the company’s history with an estimated cost of nearly SEK 300 million. INEA, the EU’s executive agency for innovation and network, has chosen to support the project with approximately SEK 120 million.
Scandlines Helsingborg-Helsingör is an efficient ferry route, transporting up to 50,000 passengers and 9,000 cars across Öresund on a daily basis with departures every fifteen minutes. The modern vessels on the route offer travellers a short travel time of 20 minutes and a pleasant break with the option of shopping at low prices and enjoying a wide selection of food and beverages on board.
In 2016, Scandlines Helsingborg-Helsingör transported 7.3 million passengers and 1.4 million cars, 410,000 trucks and 20,000 buses, corresponding to around 20% of the vehicles crossing Öresund. The route promotes integration and growth in the Öresund region, and is operated by 750 employees. It operates on a daily basis to ensure an efficient connection between Denmark and Sweden with a view of making travellers’ crossing as pleasant and efficient as possible. The route furthermore contributes to generating up to 2,000 jobs in the region.