The first plug-in hybrid ferry for Kiel-based traditional shipping company Schlepp- und Fährgesellschaft Kiel mbH – SFK, was christened today in Kiel. The “MS Gaarden” ferry will be deployed as SFK’s new flagship in public transport services. The ferry can board up to 300 passengers without barriers, with additional space for 40 bicycles. The MS Gaarden is the first of a total of four hybrid ferries and a fully electric ferry, with which SFK is launching into sustainable transport shipping.
The state-of-the-art vessel measures 32 m in length and 8.94 m in width, and with its plug-in hybrid technology and the new gas-to-liquid fuel it’s also a clean mover. It is equipped with two electric propulsion motors with 255 KW each, and its battery capacity is sufficient for emission-free travel between the Kiel railway bridge and the Bellevue ferry pier. Only thereafter do two generators with 305 KW each start for the further journey in the Kieler Förde.
The construction costs for the MS Gaarden amount to 4.5 million euros. Its procurement was funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure within the scope of the Clean Air 2017-2020 Immediate Action Programme (Electric Mobility Funding Guideline). The funding project applied for encompasses the acquisition of four plug-in hybrid ferries and one battery-solar ferry as well as the corresponding charging infrastructure, for which the Schlepp- und Fährgesellschaft Kiel mbH – SFK is receiving more than 3.2 million euros of funding support.