By
Alice Chambers |
Scandlines celebrated the keel laying of its new zero-emission ferry PR24 on 30 August 2022 at Cemre Shipyard in Turkey.
The ship will be the first part of Scandlines’ emission-free ferries for the route between Puttgarden, Fehmarn, and Rødby, Denmark.
The ferry will debut in 2024 and the line aims to make the route completely emission-free by 2030.
“The date of the keel laying is interesting because the ship has to be built according to the rules and regulations force on that date,” said Michael Guldmann Petersen, chief operating officer of Scandlines. “It is also a day associated with tradition, so of course we also placed a newly minted coin under the ship at the keel laying.”
PR24 will take 70 minutes to cross between Puttgarden and Rødby using battery power and 45 minutes when operating as a hybrid ferry.
The ferry’s batteries will be able to charge within 17 minutes at Rødby using Scandline’s 25-megawatt power cable that was installed in 2019. In spring 2023, work will begin to extend this cable to the ferry berths.
Scandlines will also use the ferry as a reserve vessel for its four double-ended ferries that are currently operating on the Puttgarden-Rødby route.
Work on connectivity at the terminals at Puttgarden and Rødby has begun, with Berth 1 in Rødby being converted into a lay-up berth for all five double-ended ferries.
“We are off to a good start, and we are sending a clear signal of continued focus on growth,” said Carsten Nørland, CEO of Scandlines.