A new chapter in the evolution of Norway’s Coastal Express (Hurtigruten) service is unfolding through the delivery of the first of a series of purpose-designed, hybrid /battery-powered vessels for a competitor to the long-established operator on the route.
Drawing extensively on Norwegian equipment and technology, the Turkish-built, 124m Havila Capella marries environmentally-considerate engineering and ship design with optimisation to the unique requirements for ensuring year-round, multi-port calls along the country’s weather-beaten, fjord-indented seaboard. Provision for use of alternatives to hydrocarbon fuel underscores the long-term thinking behind the investment.
The Coastal Express network, encompassing 34 ports of call northbound and 33 southbound, stretching between Bergen and Kirkenes, near the Russian border, has long been maintained by Hurtigruten AS on the basis of government-accorded operating concessions of fixed duration. Services into the smaller northern points in the itinerary are state-subsidised.
The latest contract renewal, planning for which was initiated in 2016, heralded a change of policy, dispensing with the Hurtigruten monopoly in favour of a two-company operation. While Hurtigruten AS retained two contracts, one entailing four ships and one involving three ships, with the Norwegian authorities stipulating capacity and environmental criteria, a third contract necessitating four vessels was entrusted to the new contender Havila Kystruten. The concessions span the period 2021-2030.
Based at Fosnavaag in More og Romsdal County, Havila Kystruten had been formed by entrepreneur Per Saevik with the specific aim of gaining a share in the historic Coastal Express operation, now officially known as the Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes. The route constitutes an important part of the domestic transportation infrastructure for passengers and freight, although the past number of years have seen the line play an increasingly important role as part of the country’s leisure sector, conveying round-trip cruise passengers.
So as to meet its obligations, Havila Kystruten assigned two newbuilds in 2018 to Spanish shipbuilder Hijos de J.Barreras and the second pair to Tersan Shipyard in Turkey, with the expectation of having all tonnage in service by the outset of 2021. The programme was subsequently hit by financial problems at the Vigo yard, which led to Havila transferring the Barreras orders to Tersan. Subsequent progress on the four-ship series suffered from problems wrought by the Covid pandemic, while the technically innovative nature of the propulsion system is also understood to have strained the build schedule.
In the event, Havila Capella was handed over in November 2021, and made her debut the following month under the banner of Havila Voyages. Second-of-class Havila Castor is being readied for phasing into the schedule from Bergen on May 10. Third and fourth ships, Havila Polaris and Havila Pollux, are expected to be commissioned during the second half of 2022.
As low a carbon footprint as practical was stipulated in the contract, against the backcloth of the operational requirements imposed by intended duty maintaining year-round service along the western and northern extent of the Norwegian seaboard.
Havyard’s HAV Group subsidiaries HAV Design, HAV Hydrogen, Norwegian Electric Systems (NES) and Norwegian Greentech contributed to the creation of what is claimed to be the “greenest” vessel working the Norwegian coast. The hull and equipment have been customised to weather, wind and wave conditions along the route, and NES was responsible for the hybrid gas-electric propulsion solution, including delivery and integration of one of the world’s largest shipboard battery packs, plus ‘smart’ control systems.
The nomination of a hybrid electric drive system using battery plant and LNG-fuelled engines satisfied the manoeuvrability, power flexibility and redundancy criteria for the service profile. The resulting energy efficiency and environmental credentials are said to have exceeded the criteria stipulated by the Norwegian authorities in the route operating tender qualifications.
Furthermore, the propulsion system has been prepared for future retrofitting of hydrogen and fuel cell technology. A scenario is foreseen wherein the ship will eventually sail on certain sections of the route completely emission-free under hydrogen power.
The adoption of Bergen gas-burning prime movers and a high concentration of battery power, plus recourse to the hydropower-fed landside electrical grid where available when alongside, in combination with efficiencies flowing from electric propulsion and a refined hull form, promise cuts of nearly 30% in CO2 emissions. LNG fuelling also infers 90% lower NOx and a circa 96% reduction in SOx and particles. With the gradual blending of biogas, as permitted by the medium-speed Bergen machinery adopted, CO2 will be progressively reduced further, potentially by up to 80% in the short-term.
The 6,100MWh battery pack was manufactured by Corvus Energy, and incorporates proprietary, patented single-cell thermal isolation exceeding class requirements. The energy storage system(ESS), one of the largest at sea, allows up to four hours of quiet, emissions-free navigation and renders peak shaving during the coastwise passage, smoothing engine loads.
Given the line’s vital cruise business element, the air-cooled ESS, plus the possibility to draw on shore power when berthed, is of particular value to operational scope in waters subject to the most stringent emission rules, notably Geirangerfjord and Naeroyfjord, the designated World Heritage fjords of south western Norway.
The genset engines are from the C26:33 series, produced at the Hordvikneset factory near Bergen, and comprise two nine-cylinder models and a pair of six-cylinder units, yielding a maximum, total output of 7,756kW.
The C-type is a compact, lean-burn gas engine operating on the Otto cycle with mixture compression and an external ignition source. A rich gas-air mix in a pre-combustion chamber is ignited to form a strong ignition source for the very lean mixture in the cylinder, giving knock-free combustion, increasing cylinder power efficiently and with reduced emissions. A feature of the design is variable turbocharger geometry, conferring optimal response across the load range. The medium-speed gas engines are also attributed with cleaner internals over time, lessening maintenance costs relative to similarly-rated diesel engines.
Twin-tank LNG fuel containment is located aft on Deck 2. Bunkering is effected in Bergen from a dedicated LNG tanker.
Power is fed to two, azimuthing thrusters of electric Azipull type, from the Kongsberg Maritime portfolio. The AZP-PM design chosen has an L-drive configuration using essentially the same underwater unit as the conventional Azipull, but with a vertical shaft permanent magnet(PM) motor integrated into the new upper section, maintaining high efficiency over a wide speed range. An upper gearbox is eliminated and space requirements in the thruster room are reduced because the propulsor is compact, the PM motor lying within the diameter of the mounting flange.
PM technology is also used in the pair of TT2000 tunnel thrusters, combining space saving with lower noise and vibration and rapid response performance, and vital to the exacting, independent manoeuvring necessary at multiple small and restricted berths.
Surplus heat from the ship’s exhaust and cooling water is recovered and re-used through the Ulmatec Pyro Waste Energy Management System for heating purposes in accommodation spaces and elsewhere. A strongpoint of the technology is its maximisation of onboard consumers using recovered energy and balancing of the energy distribution.
Basic dimensions for the Havila generation were set by the terminal, channel and bridge parameters that govern the existing Coastal Express fleet as regards length, draught and air-draught. While length overall was accordingly kept to 124m, the beam has been taken out slightly compared to existing vessels on the coastal route, for a breadth of 22m. Achieving the capacity goals and realising the extent of facilities within the dimensional block has made for a relatively compact form.
The mix of two- and four-berth cabins and suites amounts to accommodation for 468 passengers, and the interior architecture and layout developed by the Danish studio Steen Friis Design applies contemporary Scandinavian style. A key consideration in the arrangements has been to facilitate observation of the passing scene in all its natural splendour, enhancing the travel experience. Furnishings and decorative elements have been largely sourced in Norway. Given the provision for 172 port-to-port travellers, as well as the mainly tourist complement in cabins, the vessel is certificated for a total of 640 passengers.
The ship has a limited freight carrying function in line with the role of the Coastal Express fleet in providing year-round service to isolated communities where winter conditions can hamper road access. The cargo space at Deck 3 level can stow 190 pallets and several cars, handled through a hydraulically-operated door on the port side.
Havila Kystruten leases the Norwegian-flag Havila Capella from GTLK Asia of Hong Kong, owned by the State Leasing Company (GTLK) of Salekhard, Russia, and similar arrangements were entered into for the other ships in the series. GTLK was named among the Russian companies covered by the EU’s extended sanctions list on April 8, a move that now calls for new financing to be put in place. A few days after the EU dictate, associated issues relating to the ship’s insurance caused the cancellation of Havila Capella’s Bergen-Kirkenes-Bergen round-trip.
MAIN PARTICULARS -Havila Capella
Length overall
124.1m
Length bp
115.2m
Breadth
22.0m
Depth
8.2m
Draught, scantling
5.2m
Gross tonnage
15,519t
Deadweight
5,427t
Passenger capacity
640
Propulsion system
LNG /battery-electric
Main genset engines
2 x Bergen C26:33L9 + 2 x Bergen C26:33L6
Genset engine power, total
7,756kW
Battery power
6,100kWh
Speed, service
15kts
Class
DNV
Class notations
1A Passenger Ship, BIS, Battery(Power), BWM(T), Clean(Design), COMF(V-2), E0, Gas-fuelled, NAUT(AW), Recyclable
Flag
Norway
