Texelstroom, built at Spain’s LaNaval Shipyard, is 135 metres long and 28 metres wide, capable of carrying 1,750 passengers and 340 vehicles. Teso pointed out that while there are a number of sightseeing tour boats that already run on natural gas in the canals of Amsterdam, a project the size of the ferry Texelstroom is a first in Europe.
Every year, Teso’s fleet carry around two million passengers and approximately 600,000 vehicles from the Dutch city of Den Helder to the island of Texel. By making the first switch to using CNG for the ferry Texelstroom, the move in the long run will reap more sustainable and fuel efficiency operations.
Cees de Waal, director at Teso, said: “The first week on CNG is a milestone for us. By using CNG we will reduce harmful emissions and are taking an important step to make shipping more sustainable.“
The CNG-powered Texelstroom is the result of a collaboration between Teso and a number of partners including clean fuel supplier PinPoint, as well as Lloyd’s Register, C-Job, LaNaval, Compressor System Holland, and Umoe.
The project’s dual goal was to make the ship as sustainable, clean and economical as possible, whilst also guaranteeing a safe and reliable seaborne transportation.
The ferry Texelstroom has been been technically equipped to run on renewable fuel biomethane, which is considered to be more sustainable and cleaner than CNG, according to Teso.
Teso added that the choice to use CNG was partly based on the analysis of practical data coming from PitPoint’s refueling stations for CNG and LNG. The use of CNG was chosen in view of the operational reliability, combined with the fuel supply logistics and shipping pattern. Furthermore, the choice for CNG will enable Teso to make the switch to biomethane in the future.
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