[ 78 ] THE SHIP OF THE FUTURE While the Spirit-class’ propulsion pack was something of an evolution, the Ship of the Future’s diesel-battery hybrid system and podded propulsion are nothing short of a revolution. With their 8.8MWh Energy Storage Systems and generators that hold the Guinness World Record for lowest fuel consumption, the world’s largest doubleenders underline P&O Ferries’ commitment to sustainability and environmental technology. As international passenger ships with a length of 120m or more, or with three or more main vertical zones need to comply with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Safe Return to Port (Rules), engine room redundancy is key. In practice this means that a ferry with either two or four main engines shall be built with at least two main engine rooms separated from each other by watertight bulkheads. The same philosophy applies for auxiliary engines and all essential systems. Quite often these SRtP rules are a bugbear for naval architects but, in the case of the Fusion-class, the separation of engines and ancillary systems was intrinsic to the double-ender design. Similarly, an emergency bridge is yet another SRtP requirement. Although it’s not mandatory for the emergency bridge to have windows, the most essential navigation equipment must be duplicated. As the Fusion-class has a Doverend and Calais-end bridge it automatically complies with the SRtP rules once again. On the Fusion-class, the engine room compartments take the full length of decks 1 and 2 with a B/5 double skin spanning almost the full length of the hull. Midships, a stores trailer hold with adjacent store rooms separate the fore and aft engine compartments, which are a mirror view of each other, minus the engine control room located abaft of the Dover-end of the midship stores section. The stores handling system follows that of the Spirit-class but has been further improved. A 15m long hydraulic trailer lift positioned on the portside of the centre casing on Deck 3 connects the main vehicle deck with the stores compartment beneath, the loading area of which is flush with the stores centre. All watertight doors on Deck 2 are flush with the floor, creating obstructionfree passageways. BATTERIES INSTEAD OF LNG To comply with stringent emissions regulations, LNG has become a popular alternative fuel with a long list of ferries, cruise ships and container ships built in recent years boasting dual fuel engines that can burn both LNG and diesel. However, LNG remains a fossil fuel and although perfect to meet the 0.1 per cent sulphur cap in Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECAs), its greenhouse gas emissions “ P&O Ferries wasn’t convinced about the long-term benefits of LNG fuel and saw a greater promise in diesel-battery hybrid propulsion”
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