Four Norwegian firms move to next round of high-speed ferry tender

Four Norwegian naval architecture companies have been selected to participate in the second round of an ongoing local tender for the supply of new high-speed passenger ferries.

ESNA, LMG Marin, SES-X, and Transportutvikling have submitted design proposals that all utilise battery power to satisfy the tender’s requirement for low-emission operations in some of the country’s fjords.

The four proposals for the Fremtidens Hurtigbåt (“Speedboat of the Future”) tender also comprise a mix of differing hull designs including a monohull, a catamaran, a trimaran, and even hydrofoil-equipped and surface effect ship (SES) designs to reduce energy consumption.

The next phase of the tender will involve further analysis and tank testing. This will then be followed by the design proper, which is scheduled to be completed in May 2023.

The ferries that will utilise the winning design will be deployed to serve the counties of Nordland, Troms og Finnmark, Trøndelag, and Vestland that stretch from northern to western Norway.

The four companies were selected to advance to the second round of the tender out of an original total of six.