SIKANIA II HYBRID © Bluferries

SIKANIA II HYBRID for Bluferries launched

FerrySIKANIA II HYBRID, built at the Kanellos Bros shipyard in Perama for Bluferries, has been launched. The ship will serve between Villa San Giovanni (Reggio Calabria) and Messina, Italy.

SIKANIA II HYBRID is designed by Greek naval architects C.T.E. Perdikaris and is a sister to the 2021-delivered SIKANIA. It measures approximately 105 metres in length and boasts a gross tonnage of 4,100gt. It is designed to transport 22 heavy vehicles or 125 cars and 400 persons.

The ship is equipped with four azimuth thrusters Z-drive, each connected directly to one diesel engine of 1,000kW and one electrical motor of 350kW. The electrical motors are connected to NMC batteries with an energy storage capacity of 1MWh. The vessel is energy-independent, featuring an advanced energy management system. During navigation, the batteries can be charged through the electrical motors acting as shaft generators. The stored energy is used for hybrid propulsion, combining diesel engines and electric motors to supply power to the azimuth thrusters. When approaching port, the vessel operates on fully electric propulsion for zero emissions during all manoeuvring, loading, and unloading operations. Additionally, solar panels fitted on board provide 25kW of power, supplying all ship accommodation services.