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The U.S. shipowner SWITCH Maritime, in collaboration with LH2 Shipping and LMG Marin, has revealed plans to commence the U.S. construction of the existing liquid hydrogen-fueled RoPax vehicle ferry MF Hydra operating in Norway.
Following the launch of Sea Change, the first hydrogen-powered ferry in the U.S., SWITCH said it was ready to advance its next zero-emission vessel project that involves the U.S. construction of the existing DNVGL-classed 80-car, 300-passenger RoPax vehicle ferry design operating on liquid hydrogen fuel in Norway, MF Hydra.
MF Hydra is owned by Norled and performs a triangular six-nautical mile round-trip vehicle ferry service which started in March 2023.
SWITCH’s first hydrogen-powered vessel, the Sea Change, is a 75-passenger catamaran ferry featuring 600 kW of electric motor propulsion, powered by 360 kW of fuel cells with 246 kilograms of gaseous hydrogen storage at 250 bar pressure.
The vessel started public passenger service as part of the San Francisco Bay Ferry system in July 2024, after receiving its final Certificate of Inspection (COI) from the U.S. Coast Guard in May 2024. |
