Wärtsilä to deliver world’s first hybrid retrofit for short-sea shipping vessel

Finnish technology group Wärtsilä has signed an agreement with Hagland Shipping for a hybrid retrofit installation. The project will take place on board the Hagland Captain, a general cargo vessel owned by Hagland Shipping of Norway. It will be the first of its kind in short-sea shipping applications. The installation of a Wärtsilä battery-hybrid propulsion solution will enhance the ship’s environmental performance by reducing its emissions, fuel consumption and noise. The solution also features a shore power connection to provide power for loading/unloading operations and for battery charging, new reduction gear with power take-off (PTO) and power take-in (PTI) technology, and a Wärtsilä NOx Reducer (NOR). It is estimated that the total reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions after the retrofit could be as much as 80-90%; overall fuel cost savings are expected to be in the range of 5-10%. The battery capacity will be sufficient to sail in and out of harbor on electric power for approximately 30 minutes, reducing noise and pollution levels in the vicinity of the harbor. The project is in response to a collaborative agreement between Hagland Shipping and NOAH, the Norwegian environment and resource company, whereby the shipping of materials to the island of Langøya in Norway is required to be via environmentally sound vessels. Wärtsilä’s solutions will play a crucial role in enabling the Hagland Captain to meet this requirement. “Wärtsilä has been chosen as a partner due to its significant experience in providing environmentally sound solutions such as hybrid systems,” says Oivind Wendelboe Aanensen, COO of Hagland Shipping. “Wärtsilä’s forward-leaning and supportive approach has enabled Hagland and NOAH to arrive at an optimal solution. We believe our mutual project will have a considerable impact in the market and will further the environmental drive toward sustainable solutions in short-sea shipping.”