Hurtigruten converts mail fleet to hybrid technology

Hurtigruten converts mail fleet to hybrid technology


September 22, 2022 – Hurtigruten Norway will convert its fleet of seven mail ships to hybrid propulsion by the end of summer 2023. The company is paying almost 100 million euros for the "green" package of measures. The first ship to be upgraded with hybrid technology is the MS Richard With, christened in 1993.

Mail shipping company Hurtigruten Norway plans to welcome the first zero-emissions ship to its fleet by 2030. The company's goal is to become emission-free. Until the technology is available, Hurtigruten is investing heavily in the fleet to make it more sustainable with the best technology available today. The company already uses certified biofuel to reduce CO2 emissions. In addition, all mail boats are equipped with a shore power connection. The measure helps to avoid emissions in ports with the appropriate connection. Three expedition ships belonging to the sister company Hurtigruten Expeditions already have hybrid drives. In 2019, this division launched its first hybrid-powered ship, the Roald Amundsen.

Hybrid ship Roald Amundsen


Hybrid ship Roald Amundsen - Photo © Hurtigruten


Suite 7004 of the Azamara Quest


Hybrid ship Roald Amundsen - Photo © Hurtigruten 


A first step towards the ambitious goal of an emission-free fleet has recently been taken with comprehensive modernization of the 122-meter-long MS Richard With. The mail boat received battery packs, the latest engines and propulsion systems as well as SCR catalytic converters (exhaust gas scrubbers). The ship was refitted at the Norwegian Myklebust shipyard. Hurtigruten states that it has made a point of using as much Norwegian technology as possible.

Hurtigruten mail ship Richard With in the Geirangerfjord

Hurtigruten mail ship Richard With in the Geirangerfjord


The sustainability-oriented modernizations of the MS Richard With essentially include the drive area. The mail ship received new, more efficient engines that greatly reduce CO2 emissions and two battery storage systems (1.120 kWh each). It also now has SCR systems that reduce NOx emissions by 80 percent. To minimize energy consumption, MS Richard With received new propeller blades, a new arched bow, a new gearbox and a new control system. To improve thermal energy recovery from the main engines, new boilers were installed to reduce energy consumption. State-of-the-art wastewater treatment plants have been installed to minimize emissions to the sea.

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