Van Oossanen Naval Architects has been commissioned for a very unique project, designing a full electric ferry for cyclists and hikers in a special part of the Netherlands called Rivierengebied. To meet the current requirements, the municipalities in this area have asked the company who is responsible for the ferries, Uit®waarden, to create a fully electrical ferry.
The operational profile was examined to optimise the hull form. An optimum was searched over the entire sailing speed range. This is important because the current in the rivers is stronger in the spring period than the summer period. To validate the results, the hull was analysed with Computational Fluid Dynamics.
In addition to developing a new hull, Van Oossanen has drawn up the general plan that incorporated the electrical components from Huisman E-tech. The new ferry will also have a roof with solar panels. Next year the new ferry should be sailing on the Dutch rivers in this area.