VESSEL REVIEW | Le Gone & La Fenotte – Electric ferries to serve commuter routes on France's Saone River

The Joint Transport Authority for the Rhône and Lyon Metropolitan Area (SYTRAL Mobilités), an agency responsible for public transport in the city of Lyon in France, recently placed two new electric commuter ferries into service.

Built by local shipyard OCEA, Le Gone and La Fenotte (named after the Lyonnais slang terms for male and female residents of Lyon) will be operated by TCL on behalf of SYTRAL Mobilités.

The vessels will primarily be deployed on the route between the Lyon districts of Vaise-Industrie and Confluence with each one transporting 75 passengers plus bicycles via the Saône River as part of a newly launched service intended to enhance the city’s appeal to tourists.

The ferries are capable of operating fully electric, with batteries supplying power to podded thrusters that can generate minimal noise. Charging of the batteries will be done at dedicated jetties.

“The boats were fully designed by OCEA as waterbuses running on batteries, with two diesel generators acting as backup,” Elvis Sahmanovic, Maritime Transport and Mobility Director at OCEA, told Baird Maritime. “The hulls and the superstructure are built in aluminium, which we believe is the best material for electric vessels.”

Sahmanovic said that weighing only one-third as heavy as steel, aluminium dramatically reduces vessel displacement and requires less power and energy to maintain a specific operating profile. Lower weight will translate into lower energy consumption, reduced emissions, and increased profitability for operators.

Aluminium is also recyclable, making it a sustainable alternative construction material, according to Sahmanovic.

Commuter-optimised layout coupled with hybrid propulsion

Each ferry has a length of 21 metres (69 feet), a draught of only 1.5 metres (4.9 feet), a main cabin seating area, an outdoor seating area, and space for ten bicycles. The main cabin also has wifi connectivity and USB charging ports.

“The electric propulsion system has been designed to meet a very restrictive daily schedule while providing sufficient zero-emission autonomy, which can be extended with the aid of the diesel generators,” said Sahmanovic.

The generators can also serve as an alternate means of propulsion in case the ferries are unable to access quayside charging facilities.

The propulsion system on each ferry can be monitored remotely to help maintain a high level of boat availability in the event of a malfunction on one vessel. Monitoring the vessels can also provide insights into how the crews operate the boats. In particular, this approach shows whether operating profiles need to be adjusted accordingly in order to maximise battery longevity and maintain operational range.

“The vessels’ demanding daily schedule posed challenges in terms of ensuring energy autonomy,” Sahmanovic told Baird Maritime. “To ensure sufficient range, the owner factored in highly restrictive current conditions, which led to an increase in battery capacity. Integrating these large battery packs within a catamaran hull also resulted in significant space constraints.”

Ensuring ease of operation and maintenance even with limited hull and deck space

The two ferries were developed simultaneously by OCEA.

“Rather than perfecting a single prototype, we refined two at once,” said Sahmanovic. This approach of simultaneous manufacture needed to be done in a short time, which presented challenges.

OCEA also needed to overcome design challenges such as minimising the catamaran hull resistance to optimise the size and quantities of batteries; reducing the impact of wakes on the banks of the Saône and on nearby boats; ensuring autonomy with zero emissions even when required to operate 12 hours a day, seven days a week, year-round; and complying with European inland waterway rules and regulations, which, in some respects, are more restrictive than maritime rules, according to Sahmanovic.

“We also needed to incorporate all the equipment in reduced volumes in the two catamaran hulls while keeping ease of maintenance in mind.”

Sahmanovic said that, in the work on the new ferries, OCEA learned that each vessel’s battery management system played a key role.

“It ensures seamless communication and coordination among all components of the electric propulsion system, which is essential to maintaining high vessel availability and performance,” he told Baird Maritime.

Four new ferries are slated for delivery to SYTRAL Mobilités’, and all work on the vessels was carried out entirely in-house at OCEA to enable shorter construction lead times. The first two vessels arrived in October following 17 months of design, construction, and sea trials, while the remaining two units are scheduled for delivery in April of next year.

Le Gone and La Fenotte have since replaced older ferries that are powered by traditional combustion engines.

“The boats are to be integrated into a completely new transport system on the Saône,” said Sahmanovic. “Combined with the other modes of transport on land, the boats will offer passengers a new perspective of the city. Also, travelling by boat is very different and much more relaxing than taking the train or the bus, for example.”