Hybrid ferries are ferries that combine multiple sources of power (for example, traditional diesel with electric battery power), resulting in reductions in fossil fuel consumption, carbon emissions and other pollutants.
Three hybrid roll-on/roll-off ferries are in operation on the west coast of Scotland. They were launched between December 2012[1] and December 2015.[2] [3]
When changing to hybrid ferries to and from Alcatraz Island in California, the National Park Service has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 700,000 pounds. It does so by drawing power from a photovoltaic system that uses 959 photovoltaic panels that are located on the cell house roof power on the island. The ferry has its own photovoltaic panel and wind turbine on top that helps power the vessel.[4]
Washington State Ferries plans to introduce 22 diesel-electric ferries by 2040, cutting its annual diesel use from 19 to 9.5 million gallons.[5]
The New York Hornblower is powered by diesel, hydrogen fuel cells, AGM batteries, and wind and solar energy. The ferry is designed to carry 600 passengers with an operating speed at 12 knots. It operates a round trip between Battery Park, Ellis Island, and Liberty Island, also functioning as a harbor tour boat and a dinner cruise boat.[6]
The Danish ferry operator Scandlines operates 6 hybrid ferries as of 2021.[7] In 2019, they installed a rotor sail onto their existing hybrid passenger ship M/V Copenhagen which operates on the Rostock-Gedser route between Germany and Denmark.[8]
| Name | Commissioned < | --or year that battery went operational--> | Tonnage | Passengers | Battery energy capacity in MWh | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 29,691 | 1,500 | 1[9] | ||||||
| Berlin, & Copenhagen (each) | 2016 | 22,319 | 1,300 | 1.5[10] | |||||
| MS Color Hybrid | 2019 | 2,000 | 4.7[11] | ||||||
| 2018 | |||||||||
| 2018 | |||||||||
| Copenhagen | 2016 | 22,319 | 1,300 | hybrid ferry; Gedser–Rostock | |||||
| Deutschland | 1997 | 15,187 GT | 1,200 | hybrid ferry; Rødby–Puttgarden | |||||
| Prins Richard | 1997 | 14,822 GT | 1,140 | hybrid ferry; Rødby–Puttgarden | |||||
| Prinsesse Benedikte | 1997 | 14,822 GT | 1,140 | hybrid ferry; Rødby–Puttgarden | |||||
| Schleswig-Holstein | 1997 | 15,187 GT | 1,200 | hybrid ferry; Rødby–PuttgardenScandlines operates eight ferries of which six are hybrid.[12] | MV Victoria of Wight | 2018 | 8,041 | 1,208 | unknown |