News
Finferries has taken delivery of the ferry Altera
Finferries took delivery of the new battery-hybrid ferry, Altera, at the shipyard of Crist S.A. in Gdynia on the 29th of June 2022. The vessel will be towed to Turku in July.
Altera is 104 meters long, 16.5 meters wide and its draught is 3.5 meters. The passenger car capacity is 92 and the maximum passenger capacity is 375.
Altera will be put into service on the Parainen–Nauvo route on 1.1.2023 at the latest.
Battery technology helps to reduce CO2 emissions of ferries
Collaboration with other industry players has helped Suomen Lauttaliikenne, Finferries, to develop and successfully implement eco-friendly solutions. An excellent example is Elektra, Finland’s most environmentally friendly ferry, which has been operating since June 2017.
As of 2015, Finferries has collaborated with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in calculating the company’s CO2 emissions. VTT verifies the accuracy of the reported figures. The reports show that Elektra, since its launch, has significantly contributed to the reduction of the company’s carbon footprint during the three-year period from 2018 to 2020. Compared with the baseline year, 2016, the company’s CO2 emissions have fallen by 5.4 percentage units per nautical mile by 2020. This is largely thanks to Elektra, but other smaller projects have also contributed to this improvement.
Elektra’s vehicle capacity is 50% larger than Sterna’s, the ferry that Elektra replaced on the Parainen–Nauvo route. Elektra’s CO2 emissions are just 15% compared with Sterna’s corresponding comparable figures. Over the past two years, the company has only used renewable, eco-friendly electricity.
The latest addition to the Finferries fleet will be the new electrically powered hybrid ferry Altera in spring of 2022. Altera will pair up with Elektra to operate the Parainen–Nauvo route. The ferry, currently under construction at the Polish shipyard Crist in Gdynia, is moving ahead according to plan and its launch will take place in November this year.
Altera is 104 metres long, 16.5 metres wide and its draught is 5.1 metres. Its engine power (electric motors) is 2 x 950 kilowatts and the battery capacity is 2 x 0.6 megawatt hours. The ferry fits 92 passenger cars and a maximum of 375 passengers. Altera will operate using battery packs that are charged using shore power, straight from the grid, just like Elektra.
The same eco-friendly technology will also be used in a ferry that will be delivered for the Nauvo–Korppoo route in early 2023. The yet-to-be-christened ferry will operate the route together with Prostvik 1. The keel laying will take place on Tuesday, 12 October 2021.
Suomen Lauttaliikenne Group, which operates under the trade name Finferries, is a state-owned operator of both commuter ferries and road ferries. Each year, more than 4 million vehicles and 10 million passengers travel on Finferries’ vessels, which are operated by more than 300 top professionals, along 42 routes across Finland.
Read more about us: finferries.fi
Finferries’ new vessel to be christened ‘Altera’
Finferries’ new electrically powered hybrid ferry, which is currently under construction, will be christened ‘Altera’.
“Altera means proud, excellent and one of a pair, which is apt since Altera will be operating alongside Elektra in the Turku archipelago on the Parainen–Nauvo route. We are proud of Elektra’s technology and are thrilled to welcome another eco-friendly electrically powered ferry to Parainen,” says Mats Rosin, CEO of Suomen Lauttaliikenne Group.
Elektra was the inspiration for the Altera project and the new ferry will also primarily operate using battery packs that are charged using shore power. Alongside the batteries, the vessel will use back-up diesel generators. Elektra and Altera both have the same passenger and vehicle capacity. Altera fits 92 passenger cars and a maximum of 375 passengers.
Altera will begin operating along the Parainen–Nauvo route by 1 January 2023, but most likely already in 2022.
Suomen Lauttaliikenne Group, which operates under the trade name Finferries, is a state-owned operator of both commuter ferries and road ferries. Each year, more than 4 million vehicles and 10 million passengers travel on Finferries’ vessels, which are operated by more than 300 top professionals, along 42 routes across Finland.
Read more about us: finferries.fi
Finferries' Falco world's first fully autonomous ferry
Rolls-Royce and Finnish state-owned ferry operator Finferries have today successfully demonstrated the world’s first fully autonomous ferry in the archipelago south of the city of Turku, Finland.
The car ferry Falco, used a combination of Rolls-Royce Ship Intelligence technologies to successfully navigate autonomously during its voyage between Parainen and Nauvo. The return journey was conducted under remote control.
During the demonstration, the Falco, with 80 invited VIP guests aboard, conducted the voyage under fully autonomous control. The vessel detected objects utilising sensor fusion and artificial intelligence and conducted collision avoidance. It also demonstrated automatic berthing with a recently developed autonomous navigation system. All this was achieved without any human intervention from the crew.
The Falco is equipped with a range of advanced sensors which allows it to build a detailed picture of its surroundings, in real time and with a level of accuracy beyond that of the human eye. The situational awareness picture is created by fusing sensor data and it is relayed to Finferries’ remote operating centre on land, some 50 kilometres away in Turku city centre. Here, a captain monitors the autonomous operations, and can take control of the vessel if necessary.
During the autonomous operation tests in Turku archipelago, Rolls-Royce has so far clocked close to 400 hours of sea trials. The Rolls-Royce Autodocking system is among the technologies that has been successfully tested. This feature enables the vessel to automatically alter course and speed when approaching the quay and carry out automatic docking without human intervention. During the sea trials, the collision avoidance solution has also been tested in various conditions for several hours of operation.
Earlier this year Rolls-Royce and Finferries began collaborating on a new research project called SVAN (Safer Vessel with Autonomous Navigation), to continue implementing the findings from the earlier Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications (AAWA) research project, funded by Business Finland.
Mikael Makinen, Rolls-Royce, President – Commercial Marine, said: “Today marks a huge step forward in the journey towards autonomous shipping and reaffirms exactly what we have been saying for several years, that autonomous shipping will happen. The SVAN project has been a successful collaboration between Rolls-Royce and Finferries and an ideal opportunity to showcase to the world how Ship Intelligence technology can bring great benefits in the safe and efficient operation of ships.
“This is a very proud moment for all of us and marks our most significant milestone so far. Today’s demonstration proves that the autonomous ship is not just a concept, but something that will transform shipping as we know it.”
Mats Rosin, Finferries’ CEO, added: “We are very proud that maritime history has been made on the Parainen-Nauvo-route once again. First with our world-renowned hybrid vessel Elektra and now Falco as the world’s first autonomous ferry. As a modern ship-owner our main goal in this cooperation has been on increasing safety in marine traffic as this is beneficial for both the environment and our passengers. But we are also equally excited about how this demonstration opens the door to the new possibilities of autonomous shipping and safety.”
The Falco is a 53.8 metre double-ended car ferry, which entered service with Finferries in 1993. It is equipped with twin azimuth thrusters from Rolls-Royce.
Finferries joins the innovative autonomous Maritime Ecosystem
Finferries, the market leader in ferry and commuter ferry operations in Finland, joins One Sea Ecosystem. The company aims to introduce autonomous technologies into their operations. By joining One Sea, Finferries become partners with the forerunners of maritime autonomy. The DIMECC led ecosystem is happy to welcome the new partner with invaluable experience in maritime traffic to the ecosystem.
Finferries operates in coastal and inland waterways of Finland providing ferry and commuter ferry transportation serving annually 10 million customers and 4 million vehicles. Finferries’ goal is to modernize their fleet. A part of that work is incorporating latest technologies on their newbuildings, as well as their existing fleet. The technologies are expected to increase the safety of the passengers, as well as ensure the best possible services to the customers living in remote locations accessible only by ferries. The focus is also heavily on developing the concept of clean shipping.
“As a modern ferry operator joining the One Sea Ecosystem was the next natural step for Finferries. We were the first to bring an environmentally friendly battery hybrid ferry to Finland and our vessels have also been used as a test environment in the AAWA-project. We are proud to take part in collaborations where cutting-edge technology is utilized to improve the safety and sustainability in maritime operations”, says Mats Rosin, the CEO of Finferries.
Chairman of the One Sea Management Board, Mr. Sauli Eloranta is thrilled about the new ecosystem members. “The new partner brings in a new dimension to the ecosystem, representing business areas that are crucial for the ecosystem. It is vital to have ship owner’s perspective within the ecosystem work.
The One Sea ecosystem, founded in 2016, represents exceptionally advanced co-creation where global leaders in their industries work to reach their joint goal of autonomous traffic. The founding partners in the One Sea – Autonomous Maritime Ecosystem are: ABB, Cargotec (MacGregor and Kalmar), Ericsson, Meyer Turku, Rolls-Royce, Tieto and Wärtsilä. The association of Finnish Marine Industries supports the work, and the Finnish funding agency TEKES has invested in the ecosystem. The leader of One Sea is DIMECC.