Hurtigruten Norway has launched its first environmentally-upgraded battery-hybrid powered ship, MS Richard With, according to the company's release. It is the first of seven in the Coastal Express fleet to be upgraded, and now features state-of-the-art technology that will significantly reduce both CO2 and Nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions.
As part of a major effort to make Hurtigruten Norway's fleet more sustainable, the company has invested nearly 100 million Euros towards green upgrades that will be implemented by early 2024. This move follows its sister company, Hurtigruten Expeditions, introducing the world's first battery-hybrid powered expedition ship, MS Roald Amundsen, in 2019. The expedition cruise brand now has three battery-hybrid powered ships in its fleet.
"Becoming a green company means investing in efforts with documented effects, such as the ones we are doing now. As a result, by next summer, we will have three upgraded hybrid ships sailing the coast, and our entire fleet will be more energy efficient, cutting CO2-emissions by 25% and NOx by 80%," said Hedda Felin.
MS Richard With has gone through extensive upgrades and been retrofitted with battery packages, brand new engines, and new propulsion systems at Myklebust Yard in northwestern Norway. All Hurtigruten Norway's seven ships will also be fitted with SCR systems that cut NOx emissions by a massive 80% by early 2024.
The green upgrades on MS Richard With include:
Conversion to a hybrid ship with two large battery packs (1,120kWh each) and new, more efficient Norwegian-made engines reduces CO2 emissions considerably with increased redundancy and safety;
SCR systems that cut NOx emissions by a massive 80%;
New switchboards and power management systems;
New propeller blades, new bulbous bow, new gears, and new control systems to minimize energy use;
New, modern navigational and Maneuvering bridge systems;
Hull-optimization to reduce drag;
New boilers to improve heat recovery from main engines for reduced energy consumption used for heating;
New retractable azimuth thruster astern;
Installation of state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plants to minimize emissions to sea;
All ships in Hurtigruten Norway's fleet already have shore power convertibility, eliminating emissions in ports with shore power available;
The large-scale upgrade means that all Hurtigruten Norway's seven Costal Express ships will have emissions equivalent to Tier III, the strictest international standard for NOx emissions; and
Hurtigruten Norway will also use certified biofuels to cut CO2 emissions.