The all-electric car ferry, “ZeroCat 120”, owned by Norwegian ferry operator Norled, was on Wednesday given Skipsrevyen’s prestigious Ship of The Year 2014 award at a ceremony at SMM in Hamburg.
The electrically powered ferry was developed for submission to a competition organized by Norway’s Ministry of Transport. As a reward for winning the competition, the shipping company Norled has been granted the license to operate the route until 2025.
Norled will operate the world’s first battery driven ferry on the Lavik-Oppedal route. The new ferry will operate the actual route with 34 crossings a day, 365 days a year. The ferry is of catamaran type built in aluminum with slender hulls and low weight.
The award was presented to the winners by Norwegian State Secretary Dilek Ayhan at the SMM 2014 exhibition in Hamburg on the 10th September.
The ferry’s electric powertrain was designed by Fjellstrand with battery technology from Siemens. The “ZeroCat 120” does not discharge greenhouse gases, CO2, methane or nitrogen oxides to the environment.
In addition to the environmental benefits, the ferry’s operational and maintenance costs will be lower compared to a conventional ferry. According to Siemens, ZeroCat could eliminate nearly 3,000 tons of CO2 emissions.
Managing Director Mr Ivan Fossan and Technical Director Sigvald Breivik represented the Owners, Managing Director Ivar Gaute Kolltveit represented Fjellstrand and Mr Edmund Tolo represented Fjellstrand Design.
In sum all her technical achievements made her the obvious winner of Skipsrevyen’s SHIP OF THE YEAR 2014 award.
The jury electing Ship of the Year consits of Mr. Rolf Sæther (ret.), Norwegian Shipowner’s Association, Mr. Birger Skår, Norwegian Shipbuilders Sales and Marketing organization and Mr. Asle Strønen, Publisher Skipsrevyen.
Source : Independent