Expanding shipowner Fjord1 has placed an order for five ferries at Norway’s Havyard.
The newbuildings will cost more than NOK 1bn ($117.3m) and will be energy-efficient and environment-friendly.
Johan Bakke, chief executive of Havyard, said: “With these ferries we put to use the opportunities that are within digitalisation and provide both Fjord1 and ourselves with a solid foothold on the future and on the fourth industrial revolution.
“And we are now able to deliver a ferry that can operate on battery power during the complete ferry crossing.”
The newbuildings will be 111-metre long with a capacity to carry up to 120 cars.
Dagfinn Neteland, chief executive of Fjord1, said contract competition was hard but Havyard’s total competence and delivery time were crucial factors.
Havyard is already building three ferries for Fjord1 at its Leirvik yard as it won a NOK 500m order last year.
Kristian Voksoy Steinsvik, head of R&D at Havyard, added: “Environmental requirements on these all-electric ferries led us to be extremely thorough in terms of saving energy.
“We are able to carry out detailed and reliable calculations with several variations, and now we are being rewarded for having experience in the involvement of design processes connected to strict environmental requirements.”
Fjord1 plans to deploy the new vessels in the Hareid-Sulesund and Magerholm-Sykkylven routes in west Norway.
