P&O Ferries has signed a €260 million contract with Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) to build a new generation of ships for the English Channel.
Two 230 m long super ferries are due in service by 2023 and will be the largest to sail between Dover and Calais, another two options could join the cross-Channel route a year alter.
Fuel will be cut by 40% through a combination of fuel and battery propulsion.
A heat recovery system fitted to the ropaxes will save fuel and reduce the vessels carbon footprint by using a steam system to provide heating for ULSFO fuel heaters, fuel tanks, FO/LO purifier heaters and HVAC system reheating.
In addition, a heat pump will be used for HVAC system preheating, domestic hot water, machinery rooms and technical spaces below Deck 8.
The ships will be future proofed in anticipation of switching ‘zero carbon emissions ship’. They have been designed with the capacity to be carbon neutral in the future on the twin assumptions that there are more electric shore charging stations in ports and the use of batteries.
They will also be designed to be double-ended and fitted with two bridges, meaning that there is no need for the ferries to turn around.
They will be fitted with a power management system to shut down parts of the ship when not in use and they will be built with what is claimed to be a revolutionary new hull shape for the English Channel and fitted with azimuth thrusters, which will increase the ships’ manoeuvrability.
OSK-ShipTech have been appointed as naval architects for the project.
