New waste collection vessel enters service at Lithuania's Klaipeda Port

A new waste collection vessel has entered service at the Port of Klaipeda in Lithuania.

Built by Lithuania's Western Baltic Shipyard, Rasa was christened during a ceremony at the port on Thursday, June 18. She will be operated by the Klaipeda State Seaport Authority.

Estonian shipbuilder Baltic Workboats, which was responsible for the vessel design, final outfitting and systems integration, said she is the first hydrogen-powered vessel to be delivered by the company, though her hydrogen propulsion arrangement has not yet been certified, thus limiting her to operation on electric mode only. Hydrogen has nonetheless already been loaded into her fuel tanks.

Rasa has a length of 42 metres, a beam of 10 metres, and a total capacity of 400 cubic metres of liquid waste and sludge. A bilge water treatment system is also fitted.

The vessel is equipped with an EST-Floattech 2MWh energy storage system, two Genevos 40kW hydrogen fuel cells, and an electric propulsion setup from Danfoss Editron. The vessel can operate in electric mode for over 10 hours continuously.