LNG fleet conversion proposal

Declaring that the 23 ships in HADAG’s fleet were “noisy and smelly” Birgit Stoever told The Motorship “either the existing ships should be retrofitted or replaced by ships with LNG propulsion”.

In the opinion of the politician, HADAG ships, which carry 8million people a year, were also in need of modernisation and incurred high repair and maintenance costs.

Ms Stoever acknowledged that the as-yet-unspecified but undoubtedly enormous cost of such a fleet conversion would have to be borne by Hamburg itself. HADAG is a subsidiary of the Hamburger Hochbahn Transport concern which is 100% city-owned.

Ms Stoever also noted that LNG propulsion in shipping was currently a big issue in Hamburg, Germany’s biggest and busiest seaport. She referred to the Becker/AIDA LNG hybrid power barge AIDAsol which will supply berthed cruise ships with electricity in Hamburg.

A controversial self-propelled port container feeder barge with optional LNG propulsion is also under study in Hamburg. Ms Stoever said it made sense to look at other possibilities, like the HADAG fleet conversion and reported she was meeting HADAG this week.

There was no comment from HADAG. However HADAG head Gabriele Mueller-Remer said recently that the fleet’s carbon footprint had been considerably improved by the retrofitting of bulbous bows on 12 Series 2000 ferries, nicknamed “flat irons” because of their shape, during a programme completed last year.

Ms Mueller-Remer said the conversions had been “a complete success. Our fuel consumption has been significantly lowered and we estimate savings of up to 1,200 tonnes of CO2 a year, a significant contribution to the environment”, she added.

A 13th Series 2000 ship, the 30m

Hamburgensie

, went into service this year – the first to be fitted with a bulbous bow as standard. Of the 13 ships, 12 have Volvo Penta engines.