ABB package for new ferries

The 195 metre ferries will each have capacity for up to 400 passengers and 200 trucks and will be delivered to the Polish ferry company Polskie Promy, one per year from 2025.

Each will be equipped with two 7.5 megawatt Azipod electric propulsion units which are said to cut fuel consumption by up to 20% compared to traditional propulsion. Azipod propulsion reportedly offers emissions savings for ferries which could amount to 10,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per ship per year, of key importance in the Baltic Sea which the IMO has designed an emissions control area.

“We take great pride in our collaboration with Remontowa and are delighted to support them in their strategy for environmentally friendly ferries,” said Juha Koskela, division president, ABB Marine & Ports.

“This project presented us with an excellent opportunity to showcase our abilities as a single system, bridge-to-propeller integration provider.”

By integrating multi-fuel engines with battery power, ABB’s power and energy management system balances the use of the different energy sources on board, enabling further gains in operational efficiency and reducing emissions as a result.

Conventionally, a ship approaching port engages an extra engine as a failsafe back-up, which is sub-optimal in terms of fuel efficiency. The hybrid solution uses batteries instead to provide this redundancy, reducing fuel and emissions.

The three ferries will also use ABB’s shipside shore connection to access plug-in shore power as well as benefit from remote equipment monitoring and diagnostics.