Powered by
Sponsored by

GRSE inks pact with West Bengal govt for construction of next-gen electric ferry

Electric ferry will reduce carbon emission in water transport sector

electric-ferry

Taking a revolutionary step towards reducing carbon emission in the water transport sector, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd, a leading warship building company in the country, has signed a contract with West Bengal government for design and construction of next-generation electric ferry. Commander Shantanu Bose, director (shipbuilding), GRSE and Anindya Sengupta, special secretary of the state transport department, signed the agreement in the presence of other senior officials of the GRSE and the West Bengal government.

This ‘Green’ vessel has the potential to replace the conventional diesel engine driven ferries operated in Hooghly river. The arrival of electric ferry shall transform the inland water transport system in National Waterway- 1(NW-1) which is being developed from Haldia to Varanasi under the Ministry of Shipping.  

Under the green initiative and sustainable development of West Bengal, the zero-emission full electric ferry is powered by 210 kilowatt per hour (kwh) liquid cooled energy storage solution and ergonomically designed to carry 150 passengers with provision of air conditioning sitting arrangements. The 24 meter-long vessel will be built with twin screw propellers, catamaran aluminium hull along with a piercing hull form fitted with the solar panels above the superstructure. The operating speed of the vessel will be eight knots with a maximum speed of 10 knots. 

The ferry is fully designed by the in-house design team of GRSE and is indigenously developed in association with industry experts in the domain. The hull is optimized for best performance using CFD analysis techniques and will be designed and built to comply with latest classification society rules related to passenger safety.

On the occasion, Cmde PR Hari (IN Retd), chairman and managing director, GRSE said, “The project is expected to revolutionize the water transport system in this region and support the country’s efforts to reduce its emission and carbon footprints, changing the lives of the people in the city. The initiative also demonstrates the GRSE’s capabilities in manufacturing electric mobility solutions under Make-in-India initiative. We are keen to emulate our success in this green venture in other states with potential for waterways”. 

As part of Go-green initiative, GRSE has already been promoting the use of electrical vehicles as the company adopted the environment friendly e-vehicles to create awareness of e-mobility and provide a thrust to ‘Atmanirbharta’ by boosting the confidence of indigenous Electric Vehicle manufacturers. The shipyard is currently executing four indigenous shipbuilding projects including three Advanced Frigates under Project 17A, four Survey Vessels (Large) and eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts for the Indian Navy and one Fast Patrol Vessel for the Indian Coast Guard. With emphasis on export domain, the shipyard is building ships for Guyana and Bangladesh, in line with the GoI theme of “Make in India-for the world”.

📣 The Week is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TheWeekmagazine) and stay updated with the latest headlines