New Virtsu-Kuivastu ferry passes first model tests

The planned fifth ferry for the Virtsu-Kuivastu route has passed its first model tests in Germany, with results indicating low energy use and speed capacity above the contract requirement, ERR reported.

The week-long tests at Schiffbau-Versuchsanstalt Potsdam, a shipbuilding test centre, assessed the vessel’s seakeeping and hydrodynamic performance, as well as its energy-efficiency and propulsion systems. The tests used an 8.2-metre model built to match the planned ferry’s shape and proportions, with scaled copies of its propulsors and propellers.

Eero Avi, a shipbuilding engineer and chief specialist on the ferry project at the Estonian State Fleet, said the results showed the hull had been well designed. He said the vessel’s energy consumption was low for its size and remained within the contract limit with some margin.

Although the contract sets a maximum speed of 12 knots, the model reached 14 knots with some power capacity still in reserve, Avi said.

The next assessment will be ice model tests in late November at Railotech’s ice testing basin in Finland. They will examine how the hull and propulsion system perform in different thicknesses of level ice and in broken ice. The results will inform final technical decisions for construction.

The ferry will be Estonia’s first shore-charged electric vessel. Its 3 MWh battery is intended to allow it to operate fully on electricity on the route in normal conditions. Biodiesel generators will keep services running in more difficult sea conditions or emergencies. The vessel will have a range of at least 1,000 nautical miles without refuelling.

Polish shipyard CRIST S.A. will build the ferry, designed by its subcontractor LMG Marin France. The design firm also designed the ferries currently serving the route. The design and construction contract is worth 49.93 million euros, including 28 million euros from the European Union’s Modernisation Fund, with the remainder coming from Estonia’s state revenue from CO2 allowance sales. The new ferry is due to begin operating in late 2028.