The Fjords is to add another all-electric, zero emission passenger vessel to its fleet.
The Legacy of The Fjords is under construction at Brødrene Aa and will join the hybrid Vision of The Fjords and all-electric Future of The Fjords once complete.
Legacy of The Fjords will employ a specially constructed Power Dock, an innovative, floating, charging solution originally designed for Future of The Fjords, allowing it to refill its Westcon supplied 2.4MWh battery capacity in 20 minutes.
The Power Dock bleeds energy from the local grid throughout the day – while also storing consumables, fuel and waste for collection, and in doing so, avoids unsustainable, expensive power surges. It is also able to store grey and black water to ensure zero emissions to water and air.
The 400 PAX, carbon fiber catamaran will operate in Oslo, Norway, an entirely new operational area for this fleet of ships. Vision of The Fjords and Future of The Fjords currently operate between Flåm and Gudvangen, taking passengers to see the UNESCO World Heritage listed Nærøyfjord.
The Fjords CEO Rolf Sandvik said, “Oslo is very different from Flåm, but we believe it should demand the same degree of operational responsibility and environmental care – especially seeing as it is EU Green Capital of the Year 2019. We want to set new standards for the urban environment, as we have done for the natural one, and the silent running, highly efficient, zero emission Legacy of The Fjords will allow us to do so.”
The new vessel will receive support from state run organizations Enova and the NOx Fund, conceived to help enable low emission technology.
Mr Sandvik continued, “This is a considerable investment, but an important one. From a growth perspective it marks a new phase for the business, but, more importantly, it also shows other operators here and around the world that it is possible to operate with the utmost environmental care, while providing sensational passenger experiences, in cities as well as natural landscapes.
“Legacy will be unique when it arrives, but it’s our hope we can provide a model for sustainable future transport – one that will inspire other responsible, visionary cities and owners to follow suit. That will be our Legacy.”