Vard has won a contract from Norwegian public transport provider Boreal to build a fully electrical battery-powered car and passenger ferry.
The vessel is set to be powered by a fully electrical battery solution for nonstop electric operations and will be specially designed to carry out environmentally friendly activities in the Norwegian fjords.
The 74m-long, 14.20m-wide ferry is designed by Multi Maritime, while Vard’s Braila subsidiary is scheduled to build the vessel’s hull in Romania.
It will be able to carry up to 60 cars, as well as 199 passengers and crew at a time.
The vessel is scheduled to be delivered by third quarter of 2019 and will begin operations in Norway from January 2020.
The ferry will travel between Kvanndal and Utne on the west coast of Norway, where Boreal has secured a nine-year service contract from the Government of Norway.
In addition, Vard was contracted to design and build a polar expedition cruise vessel for French company Ponant last month.
The Nkr2.7bn ($322.8m) deal will see the development of an electric hybrid cruise icebreaker, which is to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) based propulsion.
Ponant has designed the vessel in collaboration with Stirling Design International, Aker Arctic and Vard.
The 30,000t cruise ship will feature a length of 150m and a width of 28m.
