The first zero emission cruise has been operated through the world heritage Geirangerfjord in Norway by Havila Voyages.
The company’s newest hybrid ship Havila Castor used battery powered propulsion only for three hours in the fjord as part of a sailing along the Norwegian coast.
Passengers on board were encouraged to be aware of the use of electricity for mobile charging, light and heating in cabins, in addition to the ship’s hotel operation reducing its consumption prior to the change to battery operation.
Head of climate and environment Sandra Ness said: “It requires some resources to cook for over 300 passengers, as well for lighting on board and to heat the ship.
“When we sail emission-free, we do everything we can to reduce the consumption of electricity, and sailing like this becomes a shared responsibility.”
The Norwegian parliament decided in 2018 that cruise ships and ferries must sail emission-free in world heritage fjords as soon as technically possible, and no later than 2026.
Havila chief executive Bent Martini said: “We spent just over 60 % of the battery’s capacity on this voyage and that demonstrates to us that the goal of four hours on battery clearly is achievable.
“With even more testing and adaptation of all energy use on board, we will eventually be able to sail the entire world heritage emission-free without major challenges.”
He called for access to shore power along the coast.
“We want to utilise our battery power even further, but to do that we rely on having in place the infrastructure for shore power to charge the ship on clean hydropower,” Martini said.
“We hope this will be operational in selected ports of call soon. In addition, we plan for a gradual blending of liquefied biogas to replace the natural gas over time. This requires biogas to made available to a large enough extent to meet our needs.”