Keel Laid for two fully electric ferries for Riveer

On December 15th, 2021 the keel laying ceremony for two electric ferries for Riveer (Gemeente Gorinchem) of The Netherlands took place at Alumare, Poland. The two vessels are due to enter service early 2023, and will sail on the river De Merwede in between the cities of Gorinchem, Sleeuwijk, Werkendam and Hardinxveld-Giessendam.

The ferries are designed by CoCo Yachts B.V. of The Netherlands after Riveer (Gemeente Gorinchem) contracted them to design a fully electric ferry. The only requirements that Riveer gave the designer was that the ferry had to be 100% emission-free and that at least the current timetable of the ferry service had to be maintained with some allowance for battery charging. This resulted in a 35.3 meter long full aluminium double ended catamaran, able to carry 100 passengers and 100 bicycles. After a long and intensive tender procedure, Holland Shipyards Group of The Netherlands has been awarded to build the ships.

Henk van Herwijnen, General Manager of CoCo Yachts, states to be very happy that the ferries now are in production. We are very proud that the vessels will sail on the river in 2023, connecting our home town to other cities, and even our staff will be able to come to the office by using their bike and the ferries where they put their soul and salvation in!

We had to design a lightweight ferry with and excellent hull, and therefor decided to evaluate each item to see if it was a must to have it on board. For example, to save weight we decided not to use any paint on the exterior of the vessel.

The aluminium double ended catamaran passenger ferry is designed in accordance with Bureau Veritas and IL&T ES_TRIN 2021, with a maximum significant wave height of 0.6 meters.

The Urban Sprinter 100 has a length over all of 35,3 meters, a beam over all of 7.6 meters and a maximum draft of 1,65 meter. The vessel will use 2x 171 kW PM motors connected to Veth VL-160-CR thrusters. The batteries will be supplied by EST-Floattech.

The ferries will be named “Gorinchem XII” and “Altena XI”, and start the service in Q1 2023.

Enjoy the Difference!