African hybrid

Cape Town-based Veecraft Marine believes it will be the first vessel construction and maritime engineering solutions company in South Africa to introduce hybrid-propulsion technology in locally-built commercial craft.

Veecraft Marine - a member of the Nautic Group - is pioneering the development of hybrid-propulsion technology in the South African maritime market and expects this technology to become increasingly popular in the years to come because of the significant emission and fuel reduction benefits associated with hybrid propulsion systems.

From the visuals that Maritime Journal has seen, the vessel design suggests a catamaran of around 24 metres with a deep wavebreaking central nacelle.

According to Veecraft Marine’s Andre van Niekerk, “Hybrid propulsion technology in the maritime industry can be compared to that used in the automotive industry.

“Similar to the auto industry, today’s electric motors and batteries for the maritime industry are small, highly efficient and capable of generating the power required by small commercial passenger vessels such as ferries and tourism boats.

“Hybrid propulsion is also suitable for patrol vessels used by the oil and gas industry which requires vessels to be fuel efficient when maintaining low and sustained speeds for patrol operations, but equally capable of reaching high speeds when, for example, the vessel is needed to intercept an intruder.”

“The flexibility of hybrid propulsion makes it possible to achieve both speed and fuel efficiency because the technology allows the vessel to go from electrical power to a combination of electrical and diesel power when additional speed or power is required.”

Van Niekerk expects hybrid propulsion to become increasingly popular in the years to come, especially amongst environmentally-conscious vessel owners and operators determined to reduce fuel costs and CO2 emissions, all while maintaining speed and performance.