Sailing sustainably to the continent: Fjord Line leads the way with green technology

“Of those ferry companies sailing to the continent, we are the only one that sails on environmentally friendly natural gas. This means a reduction in CO2 emissions of up to 25 per cent compared to diesel” says Ole Svendsen, Fjord Line COO.

In keeping with Fjord Line’s ambition to be a leader in sustainable shipping and ferry operations in Norway and Denmark, the company has, over many years made investments and taken measures to reduce its environmental footprint and increase sustainability. The state-of-the-art ships MS Bergensfjord and MS Stavangerfjord are a result of these efforts. They sail between Norway and Denmark, powered by natural gas (LNG).

“When these ships were built in 2012-13, they were equipped with LNG engines and a complete LNG plant, along with the full safety system that sailing on natural gas entails” says Svendsen.

European pioneer in the transition to environmentally friendly natural gas

With their investment in sustainable fuel more than 10 years ago, Fjord Line was among the first ferry companies in Europe to use environmentally friendly natural gas to power their ships. As a pioneer in LNG use, Fjord Line has contributed to the development of infrastructure for the use of LNG in Scandinavia.

“In collaboration with our bunkering supplier, we established a LNG refuelling facility in Risavika near Stavanger, Norway that is strategically located for and adapted to Fjord Line’s ships. Every evening, when the ships sail into Risavika, an arm is connected to supply LNG directly to the ships” says Svendsen.

Risavika Harbor, with its LNG facilities, is not only used by Fjord Line. Risavika offers LNG bunkering services to a range of maritime operators, both Norwegian and international, wishing to reduce their emissions.

Transition to “dual fuel” engines

In 2022, Europe experienced a crisis in the energy market with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and a drastic increase in the price of LNG. Combined with the explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic, Fjord Line felt compelled to install new engines in order to manage the instability and uncertainty surrounding LNG supply.

“We therefore installed “dual fuel” engines able to sail on both LNG and diesel, and updated the hardware from 2013 to more modern LNG engine technology. These provide the opportunity to sail on diesel if required, but so far it has not been necessary to use the new engines for propulsion with diesel. This means that, in practice, we still sail on LNG only” emphasizes Svendsen.

Mini power plants recycle excess heat into electricity

The sister ships not only sail on eco-friendly fuel, but have also had their own “mini power stations” installed, where waste heat from the engines is converted into electricity to meet the needs of the cabins and common areas.

“What is extraordinary about our two LNG-powered ships is that we can generate electricity on board by using waste heat to drive a steam turbine. Instead of just releasing the hot smoke from the engines “up the chimney”, we use it to create steam that goes down into a turbine and generates the majority of the electricity we need” says Svendsen.

Real-time and LED technology reduces energy consumption

Fjord Line has taken several measures to optimize energy consumption on board. The company has installed technology that provides real-time data on the ships’ consumption, and one of the ships has just received a new energy-saving lighting system.

“Real-time data means that we can optimize energy consumption at all times, just as we optimize our journey to being as energy efficient as possible. At her last docking, MS Stavangerfjord received a new LED lighting system to reduce both power consumption and heat generation from lighting” says Svendsen, adding

“Stavangerfjord and our high-speed ferry Fjord FSTR, sailing between Kristiansand and Hirtshals, have both received new silicone bottom paint, which provides an energy saving of around five percent compared to traditional bottom paint.”

Charging your car, ready for the road ahead

That Fjord Line thinks in sustainably terms as much as possible, and at all stages of its operations, can be seen with the high-speed ferry Fjord FSTR, which provides Norway’s fastest boat connection with Denmark. The ship sails on diesel, but has lower CO2 emissions than air travel on a comparable route, capacity for twice as many passengers per crossing as its predecessor, and several positive new features.

“The hull also has a new and optimised design, which reduces CO2 emissions” Svendsen explains.

On board the Fjord FSTR, 16 charging stations for electric and hybrid cars can be found. On up to three round trips per day, passengers with an electric vehicle can get a boost before continuing their holiday on the Norwegian or Danish roads.

 

Fact box

Advantages of LNG Conversion to LNG has significant sustainability benefits. The term LNG stands for “liquefied natural gas”, a natural gas with a number of benefits for the climate and environment. By replacing marine diesel with LNG, a reduction of up to 25 percent in CO2 emissions is achieved, and on top of that, a 90 percent emission reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulphur oxide (SOx) and particulates. While CO2 is well known for its contribution to global warming, the other substances also have negative consequences, especially for ecosystems.