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Minister Tuppurainen christens Finferries’s newest eco-friendly Altera ferry
Finferries’s newbuilding, the battery-hybrid ferry Altera, was christened today, 14 September 2022, at Pakkahuoneenlaituri in Helsinki. The christening was attended by invited guests and the media. The traditional christening of the vessel was carried out by the godmother of the ship Tytti Tuppurainen, the Finnish Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering.
“It is an honour for us to have Tytti Tuppurainen christen the newest eco-friendly addition to our fleet. Altera allows us to reduce the carbon footprint of our operations in line with Finland’s environmental targets. Altera’s CO2 emissions decrease by more than 85 per cent compared to a similar conventional ferry operating on diesel,” explains Mats Rosin, CEO of Suomen Lauttaliikenne Group.
Altera’s energy sources are primarily batteries charged using shore power, which are always charged when the vessel docks. Alongside the batteries, the vessel will use back-up diesel power, which can be used, for example, during winters with heavy ice build-up or during power outages or other abnormal situations.
Work on the ferry was begun in July 2021 at the Polish CRIST S.A. shipyard. Finland’s first battery-hybrid ferry Elektra was built at the same shipyard. Siemens supplied the batteries, electric motors, control system and other related equipment.
“The shipyard and Siemens have valuable experience from building Elektra and we are happy that we were able to continue our successful collaboration with Altera. Altera, which was built based on the model of Elektra (received in 2017), is a significantly upgraded version in terms of its battery and hybrid technology, for example. The waste heat generated by the vessel’s systems is recovered and the ship’s energy efficient hull design is at the cutting edge of its sector. The batteries are charged with green electricity,” says Mats Rosin.
“These improvements make the vessel even more energy efficient and eco-friendly,” adds Rosin.
Finland’s second battery-hybrid ferry Altera is 104 metres long, 15.20 metres wide and has a capacity of 92 cars. Altera will begin operating along the Parainen–Nauvo route by 1 January 2023, paired up with Elektra.
Come see Finferries’ eco-friendly Altera ferry up close!
The battery-hybrid ferry Altera will visit Helsinki on 14 September 2022 and you are free to visit the ferry between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. The ferry will be at Pakkahuoneenlaituri, close to the Magazine Terminal (Makasiiniterminaali), at the address Eteläranta 7, Helsinki.
Altera’s energy source is primarily battery packs that are charged using shore power, alongside back-up diesel-electric power. The eco-friendly Altera ferry, which uses the latest technology, significantly reduces the CO2 emissions from water traffic.
Altera, which will be paired up with the hybrid ferry Elektra along the Parainen–Nauvo route in the Turku archipelago, can carry 92 cars at a time. You can download Altera’s technical information here.
Come take a closer look at the eco-friendly battery-hybrid ferry Altera!
Håkan Fagerström has been appointed deputy CEO of Finferries
Sea captain Håkan Fagerström, EMBA, has been appointed deputy CEO of Suomen Lauttaliikenne Group (Finferries) as of 1 January 2023. Fagerström will take on the role of CEO later in the spring when the current CEO Mats Rosin retires.
Håkan Fagerström has worked for Silja Line, later Tallink Silja, since 1999 and has served as the head of cargo for Tallink Grupp AS since 2017. Since 2006, Fagerström has also been the managing director of Tallink’s subsidiary HTG Stevedoring Oy.
More information
Juha Heikinheimo, 040 501 5181
Chairman of the Board
Finferries has taken delivery of the ferry Altera
Finferries took delivery of the new battery-hybrid ferry, Altera, at the shipyard of Crist S.A. in Gdynia on the 29th of June 2022. The vessel will be towed to Turku in July.
Altera is 104 meters long, 16.5 meters wide and its draught is 3.5 meters. The passenger car capacity is 92 and the maximum passenger capacity is 375.
Altera will be put into service on the Parainen–Nauvo route on 1.1.2023 at the latest.
Battery technology helps to reduce CO2 emissions of ferries
Collaboration with other industry players has helped Suomen Lauttaliikenne, Finferries, to develop and successfully implement eco-friendly solutions. An excellent example is Elektra, Finland’s most environmentally friendly ferry, which has been operating since June 2017.
As of 2015, Finferries has collaborated with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in calculating the company’s CO2 emissions. VTT verifies the accuracy of the reported figures. The reports show that Elektra, since its launch, has significantly contributed to the reduction of the company’s carbon footprint during the three-year period from 2018 to 2020. Compared with the baseline year, 2016, the company’s CO2 emissions have fallen by 5.4 percentage units per nautical mile by 2020. This is largely thanks to Elektra, but other smaller projects have also contributed to this improvement.
Elektra’s vehicle capacity is 50% larger than Sterna’s, the ferry that Elektra replaced on the Parainen–Nauvo route. Elektra’s CO2 emissions are just 15% compared with Sterna’s corresponding comparable figures. Over the past two years, the company has only used renewable, eco-friendly electricity.
The latest addition to the Finferries fleet will be the new electrically powered hybrid ferry Altera in spring of 2022. Altera will pair up with Elektra to operate the Parainen–Nauvo route. The ferry, currently under construction at the Polish shipyard Crist in Gdynia, is moving ahead according to plan and its launch will take place in November this year.
Altera is 104 metres long, 16.5 metres wide and its draught is 5.1 metres. Its engine power (electric motors) is 2 x 950 kilowatts and the battery capacity is 2 x 0.6 megawatt hours. The ferry fits 92 passenger cars and a maximum of 375 passengers. Altera will operate using battery packs that are charged using shore power, straight from the grid, just like Elektra.
The same eco-friendly technology will also be used in a ferry that will be delivered for the Nauvo–Korppoo route in early 2023. The yet-to-be-christened ferry will operate the route together with Prostvik 1. The keel laying will take place on Tuesday, 12 October 2021.
Suomen Lauttaliikenne Group, which operates under the trade name Finferries, is a state-owned operator of both commuter ferries and road ferries. Each year, more than 4 million vehicles and 10 million passengers travel on Finferries’ vessels, which are operated by more than 300 top professionals, along 42 routes across Finland.
Read more about us: finferries.fi