EV Maritime will be systems integrator for Western Australia’s new electric ferry fleet

Image: : One2three Naval Architects & Echo Marine Group

New Zealand electric ferry design and technology specialist EV Maritime reports that Henderson, Western Australia, shipbuilder Echo Marine Group has selected it to be the electric propulsion systems integrator for five new battery-electric fast ferries it is building under an AUD 66 million contract from the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia (PTA).

Designed by One2three Naval Architects, the five 24-meter, 100-passenger, 25-knot vessels feature a low-wake hull form and will be part of the METRONET on Swan Ferry Service Expansion, the largest-ever expansion of Perth’s ferry network, and will be Western Australia’s first electric ferry fleet

EV Maritime, which will be responsible for electrical systems integration as well as engineering of some key mechanical systems, says that its business model is to de-risk procurement for local government, operators and industry by developing and proving standardized technology platforms for high-performance electric vessels.

The company’s role in the Perth project builds on the success of its first two “EVM200” 24-meter electric passenger ferries, which were built for Auckland Transport. EV Maritime was responsible for all aspects of design, engineering and system integration for these 200-passenger carbon fiber vessels, which each carry up to 200 passengers and are amongst the fastest fully-electric ferries in the world.

In contrast to the Auckland vessels, which are built to a standardized platform design, the client’s requirements for Perth require a fully custom design. This new project therefore marks a major strategic development for EV Maritime: seeing it step aside from vessel design altogether to focus on engineering and system integration.

The integrated electric power and propulsion package which lies at the heart of EV Maritime’s supply draws on the proven performance credentials of its EVM200 platform while also showcasing several innovations.