Volvo Penta IMO III Helps Power Five Electric Ferries in Norway

Prestigious high-profile contract sees Turkish boat builder Sefine adopt Volvo Penta’s low emission IMO III certified marine engine generator sets for propulsion.

Turkish boat builder Sefine Shipyard has won a prestigious order to supply Norwegian operator Boreal with five electric ferries – each supported by two Volvo Penta D13 MG IMO III generator sets (gensets). The ferries will operate to-and-from the islands in the inner Oslo fjord and run sheduled services throughout the day. The Multi Maritime-designed vessels will each have a length of 35 metres, a beam of eight metres, and two passenger decks capable of accommodating up to 350 people.

The ferries will be built under DNV-GL Classification regulations. And while truly electric, given today’s limitations in energy storage, should they need it, the vessels will be able to fall back upon range-extending power thanks to the best possible IMO III diesel solution from Volvo Penta. This will ensure schedules and passenger safety are never disturbed.

The ferries will recharge at dockside where possible, with the batteries gaining additional electric propulsion provided by the Volvo Penta gensets as required. They are to be operated by Boreal subsidiary Boreal Sjø under a long-term contract signed with local transport authority Ruter. The new service will commence in November 2021 and is set to end in 2034.

The new ferries are part of Norway’s stated intention to electrify all passenger transport on Norwegian waters. The boats will replace the current diesel fleet and, while not specifically conceived for the Volvo Penta range, have been designed to meet the latest IMO regulations. Volvo Penta’s Turkish team is helping with the installation and commissioning, made simpler by its compact design. The Volvo Penta gensets connect to the ferries’ own control systems and are approved to run on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO – EN 15940), a fossil-free fuel that reduces carbon dioxide emissions and particulate matter by up to 90 percent.

Respected Turkish boatbuilder Sefine is racing to meet the contact’s tight deadline of having all five boats operational by 2022. Volvo Penta will start supplying its IMO III gensets later this year, with the last two gensets being delivered by mid-year 2021. Each generator set will supply 265 kWe electrical power.

“This is a very exciting contract win for us,” says Mehmet Beliba?l?, Volvo Penta’s Sales Manager, Marine Commercial in Turkey. “Working in Oslo’s fjords is prestigious and gives a high profile to Volvo Penta’s IMO III solution – and our ongoing ambitions to promote electrification and sustainable propulsion systems.”

“Our Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) based IMO III gensets are extremely compact,” says Jacob Vierø, Sales Project Manager at Volvo Penta. “Not only that, our system offers greater efficiency, as they are designed from the start to work together. This ‘one stop shop’ approach allows us to package all the componentry tightly, ensuring easy installation and maintenance.”

An IMO III solution for every application

Volvo Penta offers an IMO III engine range for Volvo Penta IPS, Diesel Inboard, Marine Genset, and Auxiliary applications. Based on Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) exhaust after-treatment technology, the robust solution is designed for the toughest of marine conditions. The IMO III solution has been adapted to meet demanding marine conditions and tested extensively at Volvo Penta’s research facilities, as well as in commercial customer applications.

The big advantage of the SCR after-treatment system – fitted on the engines and gensets – is that it ensures high engine power and efficiency while reducing NOx by up to 75 percent. Additionally, the system is built to cope with high sulfur fuel and sustain high backpressure while maintaining engine efficiency and drivability.

Based on a common engine platform this solution offers a complete system approach. It includes all functions and offers the convenience of a single point of contact and source of aftermarket support. It is type-approved and developed, certified, monitored, and maintained by Volvo Penta. Moreover, the installation is also flexible. As repowering can be a big part of the installation process, the utilization of machine room space has been Volvo Penta's priority.

The company emphasizes easy installation, with the design of the SCR unit allowing for multiple configurations to compliment varied space needs. For easy installation, the SCR unit also features multiple outlets with robust bolt flanges. Lastly, operators benefit from a fully integrated system that allows the entire solution to be monitored from the Electronic Vessel Control System (EVC) or Marine Commercial Control (MCC) displays. The whole solution is optimized for ease of installation, operation, maintenance, and service.