Keel-laying for a zero-emission passenger sailing ship with electric motors as the main drive took place at the Brodosplit shipyard in Split Croatia.
“Electric sailing ship” – the so-called 3-masted schooner will be 63.50 metres long and 10 metres wide, with a height of 5.35 metres to the main deck.
The hull/superstructure will be made of steel, the masts of aluminum alloy.
When not under sail, the newbuild will be powered by a pair of 150 kW electric motors, each fed by a system of batteries charged continuously from different sources. When it reaches a speed of 6 knots, the 500 GT boat will require only 70 kilowatts of power.
The ship will be equipped with 15 tons of batteries with a max capacity of 1800 kWh. Due to legal requirements, it will also have 2 diesel generators to be turned on only when needed/in emergencies.
The design and technical solutions are entirely the work of project designers Marine and Energy Solutions DIV Ltd., who through this project, have confirmed their key role in positioning DIV group high on the list of technical competency/architectural competitiveness.
A vertical wind turbine at the bow & stern will supply the boat with electricity when it is in port and its sails are lowered. A photovoltaic solar system is to be installed on the roof. The ship will be supplied with electricity/water from renewable sources and will obtain energy without CO2 emissions. Not only is the vessel 100% “green”, but it also has no costs for fuel/propulsion machinery.
What distinguishes the electric sailboat from similar ships is the fact that the vessel charges its batteries while sailing, in a sophisticated way. In addition to the solar panels, wind and water turbines, a system of propellers with variable pitch and a blade geometry is used, serving as a water turbine when sailing. The “reversible propeller” will charge the high-power batteries in the lower deck. All information onboard will be collected/controlled on the bridge.
The ship will belong to a class of passenger ships that can sail indefinitely all the seas of the world. During the domestic tourist season, the boat will sail the Adriatic along the coasts of Italy, Slovenia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, and Croatia, and out of season in the Caribbean/other tourist destinations.
Work on the project started back in February 2020 and was co-financed by the EU funds call ”Increasing the development of new products and services arising from research and development activities - phase II“.