By
Rebecca Gibson |
Netherlands-based company Bakker-Sliedrecht is to design and supply the drive systems for seven double-ended ferries, which will operate in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Bakker-Sliedrecht will fit each of the 2,000-passenger ferries with a twin main switchboard, two thruster drive systems with two accompanying auxiliary switchboards and four 700 kW electromotors. The drive systems will be engineered in the Netherlands, while Bakker Marine Electric Zhangzhou in China will build the switchboards and drive systems.
Designed by CoCo Yachts Holland in Heukelum, the aluminium ferries were purchased by Rio de Janeiro State from Afai Southern Shipyard China in March 2013. They will be used to supplement the state’s exiting fleet and increase capacity on the Rio de Janeiro-Niterió shipping route before the 2014 World Cup and the Olympic Games in 2016.