DFDS to eventually deploy battery-powered ferries in the English Channel

Danish ferry operator DFDS and a group of ports along the English Channel have agreed to electrify ferry traffic on the Strait of Dover part of the channel.

PHOTO: Signatories from DFDS and ports. Port of Dover

DFDS intends to deploy several battery-powered ferries "on the Dover-Dunkirk route within the next 5-10 years,” a spokesperson told ENGINE. The number of ferries that will run on batteries is not yet clear, but it will be part of the operator's fleet renewal plan.

The number of battery-powered ferries that DFDS will run remain uncertain, it will be part of its fleet renewal plan and “will see new ships

DFDS' partner ports Dover, Calais and Dunkirk have committed to roll out charging facilities for the vessels and have set a goal of carbon-neutral shipping with zero-emission ferries in the channel by 2030.

"Decarbonising the Channel is critical to meeting our ambitions for net zero as it is one of the sources of the highest emissions and yet provides clear opportunities for the achievement of reductions because of the short crossings involved and our timetable for renewing our cross-Channel fleet,” DFDS chief executive Torben Carlsen said.

By Tuhin Roy

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