Damen Unveils New Battery-Ready Cruise Vessel Design

Damen has unveiled the completed design of its new battery-ready expedition cruise vessel design.

Damen Shipyards Group (Damen) Thursday unveiled the company's new battery-ready expedition cruise vessel design.

The design, developed with assistance from Expedition Voyage Consultants Ltd and Knud E. Hansen A/S (Knud E. Hansen), features a diesel-mechanical hybrid configuration.

"This hybrid propulsion technology is the most fuel efficient option available," Henk Grunstra, Product Director at Damen of the vessel's 16 knot service speed and 18 knot maximum speed.

"In combination with the hull design and the effective use of electricity on board, we are expecting to reach fuel consumption and CO2 reductions of at least 20 percent."

The vessel is designed to be equipped with an energy storage battery system for use in peak- shaving, providing supplementary power, maneuvering and silent sailing operations, as well as auxiliary generator UPS.

The vessel design is noted have IMO Tier III compliant medium speed engines, and will feature Power Take Off (PTO) / Power Take In (PTI) variable frequency drive to allow for efficient load distribution across the vessel's engines.

"Bringing Knud E. Hansen onto the project team allowed us to benefit from their vast collective expertise in designing passenger ships- including the first ever expedition cruise ship," said Grunstra.

"By combining Knud E Hansen’s portfolio including designs for more than 700 cruise vessels and the 6,000-plus ships that Damen has built over the years, you have quite a team at your disposal."

On Monday, KNUD E. HANSEN said that DFDS' next generation Ro-Ro newbuildings "will raise the bar for what is considered environmental friendly."