Fjord1 gets green light for autonomous ferry route
Written by Nick Blenkey
Fjord1 managing director Dagfinn Neteland says NPRA decision “puts us in the driver’s seat in the development of autonomous ferries.”
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) today officially notified ferry operator Fjord1 that it has been selected to develop and operate a next-generation autonomous ferry for the Lavik-Oppedal crossing in Norway.
Fjord1 managing director Dagfinn Neteland says the decision puts the company “in the driver’s seat in the development of autonomous ferries.”
“Congratulations to everyone who contributed to the work here,” he said. “Fantastic work, I am very impressed!”
Fjord1 has long been a pioneer of green propulsion — and of autonomous and automatic solutions. Back in 2018, it commissioned the first in a series of battery-powered ferries equipped with an automatic fjord crossing solution in a ceremony at HAV Group’s Havyard’ Leirvik shipyard..
HAV Group will be a key partner in this new project. Contingent on a final contract award, Fjord1 has committed to utilize HAV Group as its technology partner and a key supplier to the four newbuild, autonomous zero-emission ferries that will operate the Lavik-Oppedal route.
The route crosses the Sognefjord, on the northwest coast of Norway, from Lavik in Hoyanger municipality to Ytre Oppedal in Gulen municipality. The ferry crossing takes 20 minutes and the route is 5.6 kilometerss long. The four newbuild ferries will operate the route from September 1, 2026 onwards. Complete implementation of automation functions and autonomous systems, including autocrossing and autodocking, are required from January 2027, while fully autonomous navigation should be implemented from January 2028.
HAV Group’s involvement in the project is subject to the final contract being awarded from NPRA to Fjord1 following a mandatory ten-day standstill period, and subject to final contracts being entered into with HAV Group. The potential contracts will be based on a future-oriented operating concept that Fjord1 has developed together with HAV Group.
Subject to those conditions, HAV Group’s ship design business will deliver ship design and an engineering package for the four next generation electric ferries, which will be able to operate with a high degree of automation of vessel functions and autonomous navigation. Additionally, HAV Group’s energy and smart control business will act as system integrator and provide complete system deliveries for power system, automation and bridge design including navigation and communication solutions for the four ferries, plus the supply of two onshore charging stations. It will also develop and deliver systems for automation of vessel functions and autonomous navigation for the operating concept.
“This project can potentially become one of HAV Group’s largest contracts ever,” said HAV Group CEO Gunnar Larsen. “Moreover, it can elevate our position as supplier of vessel concepts with a high degree of autonomy and automation of functions that replace manual operations on board and on land. I must stress that there are several steps to take before any contracts are signed, but today’s news puts HAV Group in pole position as designer, developer and supplier to these four cutting-edge ferries.”
