Scandinavia’s Stena Line – First Wind Powered Ferry

In travel technology news, Stena Line, one of the world’s largest ferry lines, has just initiated what may be game changing innovation. The Scandinavian transport and travel service announced their equipping the world’s first passenger ferry equipped with wind turbine technology.

In a move destined to set an environmental trend, Stena Line will equip their Stena Jutlandica, Gothenburg-Fredrikshaven passenger ferry with two wind turbines at the vessel’s prow. The energy supplied by the turbines will greatly reduce fuel consmption, and supply energy to ship’s systems too. Robert Åkerlund, Director Technical & HR at Stena Line, had this to add:

“Within our Energy Saving Programme, we are currently pursuing 200 environment improvement projects and this is yet another very interesting project. Stena Line has a tradition of leading when it comes to the development of different types of new solutions.”

Producing power to the ship’s electrical grid, the mast mounted turbines will produce an estimated 23,000 kWh per year, according to Åkerlund. The estimated fuel savings should be in the neighborhood of 90 tons each year, not a massive environmental impact in itself, but a gigantic one should other companies follow suit. And as Åkerlund suggests, this is the equivalent of enough fuel to heat nearly 30 homes for a year.

Stena Line is already an ISO 14001 environmentally certified company in Scandinavia. The company offers some 17 ferry routes in Scandinavia and in the UK, connections between 8 countries in the region, and operates 35 vessels in so doing. For more information about Stena and their leading edge environmental efforts, please consult their website, or contact them directly via their communications manager, Jesper Waltersson. You can reach the company by phone at: +46(0)31 85 85 32.

From PR Newswire Press Release

Images courtesy Stena Line Flickr