Norway’s newest ships give a glimpse into the future of sustainable seafaring
by Paul Hockenos, Hakai Magazine 24 Sep 2018 08:33 BST
Norway's latest ships, including the passenger vessel Future of the Fjords, may portend the end of carbon-belching vessels. Of the 60 or so fully electric or hybrid vessels in operation globally, 40 percent are Norwegian © Peter Tubaas / NCE Maritime CleanTech
Western Norway's rustic port village of Flåm, a remote goat-farming hamlet and summer escape set deep among the region's icy fjords and towering, snow-capped peaks, seems an unlikely launch site for the future of sustainable nautical travel.
But, in the form of a sleek, black-and-white, 42-meter catamaran anchored in the village's tiny harbor at the end of the glimmering Aurlandsfjord, the future has already arrived. The mint condidtion vessel with raised dual hulls is joined to the quay by a cable plugged into a delivery-van-sized aluminum cargo container, which houses 5,500 kilograms of batteries. Otherwise, nothing announces the curious boat as a pioneer of the next generation of seafaring, save for the neat block lettering on its bow: Future of the Fjords.
The zero-emission, battery-powered Future of the Fjords, fabricated out of ultra-lightweight carbon fiber, recently began carrying as many as 400 sightseers at a time through some of Norway's most jaw-dropping fjords. The Future, as its crew calls it, is Norway's latest, most auspicious design in climate-friendly sea travel—part of a bold initiative that could revolutionize the global cruising and shipping industries, egregious emitters of greenhouse gases. By eliminating the oversized carbon footprint of seafaring vessels, Norway and other shipping nations can dramatically curb carbon emissions, claim Norwegian scientists and clean-tech entrepreneurs. Simultaneously, electricity-propelled vessels will reduce noxious air pollution in busy harbors.
The country has ruled that by 2026, access to its two fjord areas classified as World Heritage Sites, which includes part of the Aurlandsfjord, will be restricted to zero-emission vessels. Four years later, Norway will begin restricting other fjords and Norwegian waters to ships with low- or zero-emission technology.
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