Two autonomous electric Ro-Ro vessels driven by SCHOTTEL
SCHOTTEL has been awarded a contract to deliver SCHOTTEL EcoPellers and PumpJets for two new autonomous RoRo ships, the company said in its release. They will be operated by ASKO Maritime AS, Norway’s largest grocery wholesaler, and built at Cochin Shipyard (CSL) in India.
Both vessels will have full battery- electric propulsion and are designed for transporting trailers across Oslo Fjord between two of ASKO’s distribution centers.
High-efficiency SCHOTTEL EcoPellers The main propulsion system of each vessel consists of one medium-sized SCHOTTEL EcoPeller type SRE 210 (500 kW) driven by an electric motor. This motor will be electrically powered by a battery bank with 1,846 kilowatt-hours capacity. With its special hydrodynamically optimized design, the SRE generates maximum steering forces, thereby enabling top performance in terms of overall efficiency and course stability. This reduces fuel consumption and ensures lower operating costs and lower emissions.
An electrically powered SCHOTTEL PumpJet type SPJ 57 (200 kW) will be fitted at the bow to act both as thruster and take-home system. The extremely compact SPJ will improve manoeuvrability many times over.
The vessels will be fitted with a bridge forward and initially they will be operated with a crew on board. Once established, the vessels will operate fully autonomously for ASKO with the ability to transport 16 fully loaded standard EU trailers at a time. These will be stowed on the open deck with a loading ramp at the stern. The operating speed will be 10 knots and it is anticipated that this mode of trailer transport will replace over 2 million road miles per year, in turn saving around 5,000 tonnes of CO 2 every year. Options for two further vessels The 67-metre long vessels have been designed by Naval Dynamics in Norway. They will be built under DNV GL Classification and flagged in Norway. The contract includes options for two further vessels. 2/2 Both vessels are scheduled to enter operation in January 2022.
About CSL
Cochin Shipyard Ltd., situated adjacent to the Port of Cochin on the west coast of India, is the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility in the country. CSL is able to build vessels with up to 110,000 deadweight tonnage and repair vessels with up to 125,000 deadweight tonnage.
