The photo is sourced from hurtigruten.com
The ship will be equipped with three retractable wind “sails” integrated with solar panels, counter-rotating propellers and several maneuvering thrusters. The “sails” will consist of three autonomous power generators combining solar panels with a total area of 1,500 square meters and wind turbines. When fully extended, the sails will be 50 metres tall, covering a total of 750 square meters. The outer sides of the vessel will be equipped with batteries with a capacity of 60 megawatt-hours (MWh), which will be charged during docking and will provide a cruising range of 550 to 650 kilometers during sailing. This means that the ship will need from seven to eight “recharges” for an 11-day voyage.
The construction and launch of the Sea Zero vessel will contribute to the decarbonisation of maritime transport, which accounts for 11% of the transport sector’s greenhouse gas emissions (as estimated by McKinsey). Previously, a similar project was implemented in 2022 by China Yangtze Power, one of China’s leading hydropower companies, jointly with the Hubei Three Gorges tourism group, which launched the world’s largest cruise passenger liner named Yangtze River Three Gorges 1. The 100-metre-long ship, which can carry up to 1,000 passengers, is equipped with 15 batteries with a total capacity of 7.5 MWh allowing it to travel 100 kilometres without recharging. The ship gets recharged at the world’s largest HPP, the Three Gorges Dam, and is used for tourist routes in eastern China’s Hubei Province.
The decarbonisation of maritime transport is also facilitated by the introduction of emission capture systems, which consist of gas purifying apparatuses and portable tanks for carbon dioxide injection, storage and transportation. One such system, which was developed by the Dutch company Value Maritime, has already been adopted by a number of European shipping operators, including JR Shipbuilding, Boomsma Shipping and Wijnne Barends.
