Stena RoRo has taken delivery of the Ro-Pax Guillaume de Normandie, the 12th in a series of 15 vessels, from the Chinese shipyard CMI Jinling (Weihai).
The ship is long-term chartered to the French shipping company Brittany Ferries. In April next year, she will enter service on the Portsmouth – Caen route, replacing the Normandie, which has sailed the route since 1992. This is the fifth of five vessels in the same series for the Brittany Ferries fleet.
Guillaume de Normandie will be powered by multi-fuel engines as well as the market’s largest battery-hybrid package of 12 MWh. With these batteries, the ship will be able to operate in and out of port solely on battery power and even maneuver when docking and undocking without using the ship’s diesel engines.
The vessel is also equipped with a shore connection with an output of eight MW for high-speed charging of the batteries, which also enables a completely fossil-free stay when in port. With the installed battery capacity, the vessel can operate at speeds of up to 17.5 knots on batteries alone.
The ship’s engines can be powered by marine diesel (MGO), liquefied natural gas (LNG), biodiesel or biogas. In addition, the PTI/PTO system with the battery power function can be used for propulsion at sea or maneuvering in port.
The system is scalable, which means that in the future, the Guillaume de Normandie can operate entirely on batteries or with a combination of the different fuels.
The ship’s modern interior (designed by Figura Arkitekter AB) has been especially created for the current route and with clear influences from Normandy. The ship is certified for 1300 passengers along with 2410 lane meters of cargo, whereof 176 lane meters for personal cars.