VESSEL REVIEW | Kanareyka – Electric day tour boat for operation in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Emperium, a shipbuilder under Russia’s Sitronics Group, has completed construction of an electric catamaran sightseeing vessel designed specifically for daytime operation in the rivers and canals within the city of Saint Petersburg.

Named Kanareyka (Канарейка; “Canary”) after a local river, the open-air vessel was designed in compliance with Russian Classification Society rules and was developed with a focus on minimising any adverse environmental impact.

All-electric upgrade of an earlier tour boat series

The newbuild utilises the same general layout as the sightseeing vessel Moika but is fitted with a 560Ah battery and an electric motor in place of the earlier boat’s diesel engines, thus earning the Project EM2108 series of vessels the alternate designation “Moika 2.0.” The newer vessel also boasts around 90 per cent domestic content and an ergonomic layout.

Kanareyka has all-steel construction, an LOA of 16.5 metres (54.1 feet), a beam of four metres (13 feet), a draught of only 0.8 metre (2.6 feet), a depth of 1.35 metres (4.43 feet), a height of 2.45 metres (8.04 feet), and space for up to 40 passengers in addition to two crewmembers. The low height enables the vessel to pass underneath bridges while the narrow beam and the shallow draught permit safe transit through the city's many canals.

The electric propulsion is capable of whole-day operation at a service speed of seven knots on a single full charge of the battery, though a maximum speed of over eight knots can be reached.

Charging of the battery will be done overnight at either of two dedicated jetties in Saint Petersburg, though Sitronics Chairman Nikolay Pozhidaev has assured that additional charging stations will be built throughout the city.

A more economical alternative for the city's fleet

The builder claims the use of the electric sightseeing vessel will also incur lower operating costs compared to diesel-powered vessels. Specifically, the maintenance costs of a Project EM2108 electric vessel over a span of 15 years are projected to be about a fifth of the total maintenance and refuelling costs of a diesel-powered vessel over the same period.

The city government of Saint Petersburg will place orders for another two vessels from the same series.