EMEA News
Fast Ferry Gets Low Fuel Efficiency Marks
The Villum Clausen ferry, which in 2000 the Guinness Book of World Records named the world's fastest ferry at the time, uses nearly three times as much fuel to move a tonne of cargo or passengers as a larger vessel operating on the same route, according to a report in local news site Bornholm.nu.
The ferry can sail from Ronne on the Danish island of Bornholm to Ystad, Sweden at 45 knots, while a larger ferry on that route, Leonora Christina, moves at 37 knots, but Villum Clausen uses 2.7 times as much fuel per tonne moved to gain a little over 1.2 times the speed, according to calculations by Bornholm Passenger Association.
Villum Clausen has a capacity of 286 cars and 1,055 passengers.
Fuel costs have become a matter of increasing concern for ferry operators in recent months.
Baltic ferry operator AS Tallink Grupp said its fuel costs jumped 13 percent year-over-year in the third quarter of 2012, while builders have been working on new fuel-saving ferry designs including vessels powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) or wind and sun.
