British ferry operator P&O Ferries has held the naming ceremony for its second newbuild double-ended hybrid ship, P&O Liberté.
P&O Liberté is the second of two identical purpose-built Fusion Class sister ships ordered by P&O Ferries at China’s Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) in 2019.
The newbuilds will operate in the English Channel, specifically between the port of Dover in the UK and the port of Calais in France.
The first vessel, P&O Pioneer, was delivered in February 2023 and officially named at a ceremony in Dover in July 2023. P&O Pioneer commenced commercial operations in June 2023.
Propelled by a combination of fuel and battery power, the vessels are forecasted to deliver a 40% reduction in carbon emissions on the Dover-Calais route. The hybrid system allows the vessels to operate from their energy storage system while maneuvering or in port. They are also designed to have the capacity to become fully carbon neutral in the future.
The ferries are 230.5 meters long, 30.8 meters wide, and have a service speed of 20.8 knots. There are four battery rooms on board the ships, equipped with a total of 1,160 large-capacity batteries, and the battery shipment capacity reaches 8.8 MWh.
When sailing, the excess electric energy can be recovered to the large-capacity battery on board, according to P&O Ferries.
At the beginning 2024, the UK company signed a lifecycle agreement with Finnish technology group Wärtsilä for the two hybrid ferries. The agreement covers parts and maintenance services, maintenance planning, operational support, and Wärtsilä’s Expert Insight predictive maintenance service.