Neil
Voyager 
Posts: 7,089
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Post by Neil on Nov 21, 2016 11:52:16 GMT -8
Rolls-Royce to test autonomous shipping in Norwegian fjordsPOSTED BY: JOSEPH TATONE 2. OCTOBER 2016 Rolls-Royce believes autonomous ships could come into use by 2020, and will use the Norwegian fjords as a testing ground for the new Norwegian technology which it hopes to launch globally. – Technology for remote controlled solutions on shipping already exists, the question is how far we can go in the direction of unmanned vessels, and the types of ships this is most suitable for, says Jann Peter Strand, product manager for automation and control at Rolls-Royce Marine. He is among the speakers at the launch of the Norwegian Forum for Autonomous Ships on the 4th of October. Rolls-Royce in Norway already deliver solutions today for monitoring ships from shore and remote service missions on board. The company is also involved in development projects in this area in Norway, Finland and Singapore. – We gather knowledge in many areas. While the technology is developed largely in Norway. It is very gratifying when we see that the Norwegian research and the authorities are hopeful that we can test our solutions in Norwegian waters, said Jann Peter Strand of Rolls-Royce. Source: Rolls-Royce / Norway Today Steadily moving toward the world that 'mrdot' grumbles about, where the remaining jobs are as Walmart greeters. The one place I would support the notion of remote controlled ships is in waters where there is a high incidence of piracy, with considerable danger to crew. Everywhere else, I want humans on board. |
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heretix
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Former sailor, commercial driver and logistics administrator
Posts: 72 
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Post by heretix on Jan 24, 2017 15:22:11 GMT -8
Somehow, the following article has escaped me until today. Sorry for the delay, folks!  Color Line with the world’s largest hybrid ferryPOSTED BY: ALI POURRAMEDANI 3. SEPTEMBER 2016
Color Line will build the world’s largest hybrid ferry and put it in traffic on the route Sandefjord-Strømstad from 2020.
The ferry is a plug-in hybrid, where the batteries are recharged via a power cable with green electricity from their own shore power plants, or recharged on board of the ship’s generators.
The new ferry is included in the competition for allocation of new sailing times in Sandefjord harbor and construction assumes that Sandefjord Municipality allocates 10 resignation of Color Line.
The ferry with the working title “Color Hybrid” will have almost double capacity as M /S Bohus, which is scheduled to be replaced by the new ship. The ferry will have full battery power into and out of the fjord to Sandefjord.
It will therefore not give emissions of harmful greenhouse gases or nitrogen and sulfur compounds in this area. This emerged in the application that Color Line has sent to Sandefjord Municipality on the allocation of sailing times from 1 January 2020.
Environment is an accelerator for Color Line, whose company including installing shore power in Oslo, Larvik and Kristiansand. With shore in Sandefjord will all Norwegian ports to Color Line have shore power facilities. – Our ambition is to be a leader in European short sea shipping and “Color Hybrid ‘is a new proof of this, says Trond Kleivdal in Color Line.
Color Line is currently the only company in the international passenger and freight traffic to and from Norway by ship registered in a Norwegian ship with Norwegian headquarters. The focus on new ships with new environmental technology happens partly because the company through the Government’s maritime strategy has received virtually identical conditions as their competitors in the Nordic region, says Trond Kleivdal.
World’s plug-in hybrid ferry will be 160 meters long and have a capacity of 2,000 passengers and 430-500 cars. The ship will provide significantly increased capacity on the route between Norway and Sweden, and will represent an expanded and improved service on board for a new and better travel experience.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
norwaytoday.info/finance/color-line-worlds-largest-hybrid-ferry/
Photo: Color Line
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Post by Starsteward on Jan 25, 2017 13:49:10 GMT -8
Somehow, the following article has escaped me until today. Sorry for the delay, folks! Color Line with the world’s largest hybrid ferryPOSTED BY: ALI POURRAMEDANI 3. SEPTEMBER 2016
Color Line will build the world’s largest hybrid ferry and put it in traffic on the route Sandefjord-Strømstad from 2020.
The ferry is a plug-in hybrid, where the batteries are recharged via a power cable with green electricity from their own shore power plants, or recharged on board of the ship’s generators.
The new ferry is included in the competition for allocation of new sailing times in Sandefjord harbor and construction assumes that Sandefjord Municipality allocates 10 resignation of Color Line.
The ferry with the working title “Color Hybrid” will have almost double capacity as M /S Bohus, which is scheduled to be replaced by the new ship. The ferry will have full battery power into and out of the fjord to Sandefjord.
It will therefore not give emissions of harmful greenhouse gases or nitrogen and sulfur compounds in this area. This emerged in the application that Color Line has sent to Sandefjord Municipality on the allocation of sailing times from 1 January 2020.
Environment is an accelerator for Color Line, whose company including installing shore power in Oslo, Larvik and Kristiansand. With shore in Sandefjord will all Norwegian ports to Color Line have shore power facilities. – Our ambition is to be a leader in European short sea shipping and “Color Hybrid ‘is a new proof of this, says Trond Kleivdal in Color Line.
Color Line is currently the only company in the international passenger and freight traffic to and from Norway by ship registered in a Norwegian ship with Norwegian headquarters. The focus on new ships with new environmental technology happens partly because the company through the Government’s maritime strategy has received virtually identical conditions as their competitors in the Nordic region, says Trond Kleivdal.
World’s plug-in hybrid ferry will be 160 meters long and have a capacity of 2,000 passengers and 430-500 cars. The ship will provide significantly increased capacity on the route between Norway and Sweden, and will represent an expanded and improved service on board for a new and better travel experience.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
norwaytoday.info/finance/color-line-worlds-largest-hybrid-ferry/
Photo: Color Line
The building of this type of large vessel is truly amazing! Many of Heretix postings reveal new and exciting technologies being brought on-stream by Norwegian and other European companies which always makes me wonder why such bold new strategies are not being planned for use in B.C. I suppose a cable barge and three LNG vessels is the extent of our venture into the future. |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 25, 2017 15:05:18 GMT -8
I suppose a cable barge and three LNG vessels is the extent of our venture into the future. Make that 5 LNG vessels. Orca Eagle Raven Swift Reliant Seaspan's two new LNG ferries will be regular sights in Active Pass and in the Fraser's south-arm for years to come. |
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Post by WettCoast on Jan 25, 2017 16:23:37 GMT -8
I suppose a cable barge and three LNG vessels is the extent of our venture into the future. Make that 5 LNG vessels. Orca Eagle Raven Swift Reliant Seaspan's two new LNG ferries will be regular sights in Active Pass and in the Fraser's south-arm for years to come. You could say seven, if you included the upcoming conversions of the Spirit twins. On the other hand what is happening in Norway will yield a significant reduction in GHG generation by this new vessel versus those vessel(s) being replaced. I am sure more of this new technology will be implemented over there. We have a long ways to go in our corner. |
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heretix
Deckhand
Former sailor, commercial driver and logistics administrator
Posts: 72
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Post by heretix on Jan 26, 2017 4:48:38 GMT -8
The innovations are a consequence of our government's strict restrictions against fossil emissions, encouragement to promote "green" solutions; and a fierce competition between several Norwegian and foreign technology developers.
Color Line and other international companies are, however, free to choose which solutions they want within the framework of the legal regulations, while domestic players, like Fjord1, Norled and Torghatten must follow the conditions stipulated in the requests for proposals that they compete to win. Here, detailed specifications are listed for minimum car and passenger capacity, fuel system(s), minimum speed, available replacement vessels etc... with fines and withholding of payments for potential breaches of contract.
This has cut down the public costs for ferry services considerably; and encouraged an international industry for marin propulsion and navigation systems. It's now common that the main contractors engage specialised sub-contractors to provide essential parts of the vessels, where the end product may then be assembled in Turkey, Spain, Poland, Finland or Norway, depending of which wharf consortium is awarded the construction and where there is vacant capacity at any given time.
In the case of the new Color Line ferry referred to above, the main contract has been awarded to Ulstein Verft in Ulsteinvik, Norway. I have tried to search for more info, but the details are probably not negotiated yet.
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Post by Mike C on Jan 26, 2017 8:39:36 GMT -8
Make that 5 LNG vessels. Orca Eagle Raven Swift Reliant Seaspan's two new LNG ferries will be regular sights in Active Pass and in the Fraser's south-arm for years to come. You could say seven, if you included the upcoming conversions of the Spirit twins. On the other hand what is happening in Norway will yield a significant reduction in GHG generation by this new vessel versus those vessel(s) being replaced. I am sure more of this new technology will be implemented over there. We have a long ways to go in our corner. I'm putting on my tinfoil hat here, but I firmly believe this push on part of BCFS to pursue Natural Gas, all of a sudden, is coming from the province, attempting to create a small market for the LNG being extracted, and heavily, heavily promoted, in BC's Northeast. They've done the same with recent orders of TransLink and BC Transit buses across the province.
I also agree that LNG is hardly an advance in terms of marine fueling, however it's a step in the right direction - the BSC would have been a great opportunity to try a hybrid-electric technology, given it's low fuel consumption.
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Post by WettCoast on Jan 26, 2017 10:08:23 GMT -8
Mike C, I agree 100%. Going to LNG is a step in the right direction, but only a small step. Although cleaner, it does little to reduce GHG emissions. Going to new technologies such as hybrid electric systems where possible is better. Another place that I believe such technology would work is with Vancouver's SeaBuses.
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Post by Starsteward on Jan 26, 2017 12:36:00 GMT -8
The innovations are a consequence of our government's strict restrictions against fossil emissions, encouragement to promote "green" solutions; and a fierce competition between several Norwegian and foreign technology developers. Color Line and other international companies are, however, free to choose which solutions they want within the framework of the legal regulations, while domestic players, like Fjord1, Norled and Torghatten must follow the conditions stipulated in the requests for proposals that they compete to win. Here, detailed specifications are listed for minimum car and passenger capacity, fuel system(s), minimum speed, available replacement vessels etc... with fines and withholding of payments for potential breaches of contract. This has cut down the public costs for ferry services considerably; and encouraged an international industry for marin propulsion and navigation systems. It's now common that the main contractors engage specialised sub-contractors to provide essential parts of the vessels, where the end product may then be assembled in Turkey, Spain, Poland, Finland or Norway, depending of which wharf consortium is awarded the construction and where there is vacant capacity at any given time. In the case of the new Color Line ferry referred to above, the main contract has been awarded to Ulstein Verft in Ulsteinvik, Norway. I have tried to search for more info, but the details are probably not negotiated yet. Very interesting to read that the Norwegian (Federal) government has taken the rather bold move of getting down to the real nuts and bolts of emission standards/controls. Also interesting to note that while there appears to be different standards/options for International and domestic operators, either choice falls within the overall parameters set by the Norwegian government. Also interesting to see that there are specific penalties for non-compliance. That all may sound a bit heavy-handed but there's no use in setting standards/laws, if there are no enforcement mechanisms. The current Canadian Federal government, with its renewed commitment to the protection of the environment should get into the nuts and bolts of environmental legislation and set stringent standards for all public contracts awarded to Canadian shipyards as well as to Canadian companies who award ship-building contracts outside of Canada. It's quite simple. If you want to operate a new vessel within Canadian Territory, that vessel must be compliant with all new regulations! Non-compliance would render a vessel 'illegal to operate", facing stiff penalties if caught. The Federal government should also encourage Canadian technology development by offering incentives/opportunities similar to those that the Norwegian government has established. |
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heretix
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Posts: 72
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Post by heretix on Jan 27, 2017 8:05:55 GMT -8
Re non-compliance in Norway: The Ministry of Transport has been notified by many ferry users that while the current system with RFP periods of 5 or 10 years may save money for the government, it also means a lower quality of the service in some cases. Particularly with ferry breakdowns, where a large enough replacement vessel must be provided within the contracted time frame. Also, we have had cases of unsuitable substitutes due to rough weather around the outermost islands, which has resulted in cancellations and a passenger-only replacement boat. Thus, the proper authorities have started to toy with the thought of owning all ferries themselves, to make reshuffling easier without the need to hire (sometimes partly unsuitable) boats off a rival company, while letting external firms compete to staff and run them. It will be interesting to learn if this suggestion will be developed further or scrapped. I just hope that not more electric ferries will be put into service until the technology has become more stable. As of now, it has improved, but not sufficiently. The Ampere that I have included a post about above, still suffers from a certain number of cancellations and "hick ups". But since it's one of three vessels on the Lavik-Oppedal route, its unscheduled layovers have not been critical, yet still irritating for drivers, particular of commercial vehicles with little leeway between deliveries, so I have read that they try to plan their day so that they avoid using the Ampere as much as possible. Further reading about the Ampere and green propulsion technology here: iecetech.org/issue/2016-04/Cleaner-greener-shipping |
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heretix
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Former sailor, commercial driver and logistics administrator
Posts: 72
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Post by heretix on May 20, 2019 14:50:13 GMT -8
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heretix
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Former sailor, commercial driver and logistics administrator
Posts: 72
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Post by heretix on Jul 30, 2019 6:22:27 GMT -8
Re electric ferries in Norway - update: After some years of testing out so-called 'green' vessels on the Norwegian fjords, it's time to evaluate the project. While most of the changes are on the positive side, one element has started to annoy the local population in the affected areas big time. It turns out that the new zero-emission ferries need more time to charge their batteries than first expected, so while they are able to keep up the same crossing speed as the old diesel ferries, they need more docking time. This has led to the sad fact that the brand new boats require an extra 5 minute per docking, so a roundtrip at a typical short route is thus increased from 30 to 40 minutes, with the result that there will be two less departures from either side of the fjord during a 24 hour period. The ship owners claim that this is news to them and that they have been misled by the manufacturers, but can we really believe that? Until the problem is fixed and the charging time has been brought down to an acceptable level, most users, foremostly commercial traffic, wish that the old diesel vessels would return. The way things have developed, it's like going backwards into the future. A new fleet of all-electric ferries with massive battery packs is currently under production. Photo copyright: Frederic Lambert electrek.co/2018/03/05/all-electric-ferries-battery-packs/ |
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heretix
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Former sailor, commercial driver and logistics administrator
Posts: 72
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Post by heretix on Aug 4, 2019 0:00:40 GMT -8
World’s Largest Plug-In Hybrid Vessel DeliveredThe world’s largest plug-in hybrid vessel, Color Hybrid, has been delivered from Ulstein Verft to Color Line. Color Hybrid is a plug-in hybrid, where the five-megawatt batteries can be charged with environmentally friendly power from shore power in Sandefjord, Norway. The new vessel will replace MS Bohus on the route between Sandefjord, Norway and Strömstad, Sweden. She has a maximum speed of 17 knots and will sail silently in and out of the fjord of Sandefjord without harmful air emissions, as her batteries provide enough power to sail 12 nautical miles. The battery pack weighs 65 tons and can be recharged in one hour. [Source: Maritime Executive] More details and videos here: www.maritime-executive.com/article/world-s-largest-plug-in-hybrid-vessel-deliveredPhoto credit: Color Line 
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Post by Starsteward on Aug 4, 2019 7:24:31 GMT -8
Color Line and the builders at Ulstein Verft have shown that vessels as large as this can be built successfully. Love the Ulstein Verft shipyard that demonstrates how to build vessels of this size using the piece by piece assembly method.
The question I have is this: The information says it takes an hour to recharge the battery pack. How many trips can the ship do before having to recharge the battery? I see that each trip is 12 miles so I would expect the ferry to be able to complete several round trips before needing to recharge?
The size and carrying capacity of both passengers and vehicles is larger than anything currently employed by BCFS and given that we have implemented battery/diesel hybrids, there would seem to be no size limit as to the type of ferry BCFS couldn't build in the upcoming round of vessel replacements.
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heretix
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Post by heretix on Aug 4, 2019 23:17:26 GMT -8
The 12 miles is only the part of the voyage taking place in the inner Sandefjord area, between the outer islands and the city centre. The entire trip between Sandefjord and Strömstad takes 2.5 hours. With a departure every 3 hours from either side, there is only 30 minutes docking time and possibility for recharging on the Sandefjord side except for the midle of the night, when Color Hybrid has a longer break. There will probably be built a charging facility on the Strömstad side as well, but it's subject to Swedish regulations and in that country, the solution with electric propulsion/charging is way behind Norway, so it may take some time. The idea with a hybrid vessel is to not emit gases while being close to shore and use convensional fuel in open waters, but it's a good start on the way to a 100% battery solution. A different hybrid technology is used on Hurtigruten's new flag ships Roald Amundsen (already delivered) and Fridtjof Nansen (next year), which will be used for expeditions in Arctic and Antarctic waters rather than along the coast of Norway. They don't dock much, so the charging is being done en route while using fossil fuel, then they switch to batteries when being close to the ice edge or coast. This is, however, not enough for the hardline environmentalists, who demand an even 'greener' solution. And you are right: Ulstein Verft is world-leading when it comes to producing environmental-friendly ships. That's why their order books ar full now, after having been on the brink of bankruptcy not long ago. But they dared think outside the box and it has obviously paid off! Edit: Map of the outer Oslofjord area.  |
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heretix
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Former sailor, commercial driver and logistics administrator
Posts: 72
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Post by heretix on Nov 21, 2019 16:10:35 GMT -8
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heretix
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Former sailor, commercial driver and logistics administrator
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Post by heretix on Feb 11, 2020 3:59:02 GMT -8
Frustrated ferry users in 2020
Some years ago, the respossibility of managing the ferry contracts was transferred from the central government of Norway to the counties, where transport/communication must compete for funds in the budgets along with health, education, culture and other sectors. This jeopardises the entire 'go green' plan, since the counties now have two choices: A) Continue as before and let the ferry users pay more or B) Stop the implementation of battery and hybrid ferries and keep the fares at today's level, with minor adjustment for inflation. Two of the biggest 'ferry counties' first tried option A, with the result that the prices increased with up to 60% from 1 January 2020! The result would be that a family needed to pay an estimated 6000 CAD more than before per year and some have already started to move from the islands to the mainland. The frustration spred, also because charging times for battery ferries increase a roundtrip with 10-20 minutes, which means fewer departures and longer to wait for the users. So the counties changed their minds and eventually went with plan B, with the consequence that old polluting diesel ferries will continue to be used indefinitely, while the construction of battery ferries and dockside charging facilities have come to a grinding halt. The hope now is that our new minister of transport, Mr Hareide, will find a way to alloctae more funds to the counties, so that the modernisation process can continue with happy users literally on board.  Photo copied from www.nett.no
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Post by Starsteward on Feb 11, 2020 16:18:53 GMT -8
Here's hoping that the Norwegian counties can retrieve the necessary funding to continue building new ferries that are alternatively powered by anything but
diesel fuels.
Just wondering, how is the big Color Line ferry doing these days? As she is battery powered, has the vessel met operating expectations?
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heretix
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Post by heretix on Feb 12, 2020 1:15:58 GMT -8
Of Color Line's seven ships, only the latest, the Color Hybrid (2019) is fitted with charging possibilities, but unlike the smaller ferries along he coast, it takes way too much power for these huge ocean-going vessels in international waters (to and from Sweden, Denmark and Germany) to have enough battery capacity to last the entire voyage, particularly since only Norway has developed a functioning charging system, so the Color Hybrid just gos green for the closest 20 kilometres to the ports in either end of its crossing, in Sandefjord, Norway and Strömstad, Sweden, respectively. So far, after less than a year in service, I have heard nothing negative about the Color Hybrid, which hopefully means that it has met the anticipated expectations both from its operator and users. According to Color Line themselves, the Color Hybrid has set a new standard for comfort, climate and environmental emissions. The Norwegian website www.tu.no calls it "going directly from the Stone Age to the Rocket Age". It also won the attractive 'ship of the year' award for 2019. www.colorline.com/about-us/our-shipsen.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Color_Hybrid |
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heretix
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Former sailor, commercial driver and logistics administrator
Posts: 72
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Post by heretix on Aug 9, 2020 0:14:02 GMT -8
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heretix
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Former sailor, commercial driver and logistics administrator
Posts: 72
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Post by heretix on Jul 3, 2022 5:03:56 GMT -8
Free ferries!From 1 July 2022, the Norwegian government has decided that certain ferry crossings will be free of charge for drivers and passengers. It affects isolated coastal and island communities with no fixed road connection to the outside world + routes with less than 100000 travelers per year (as of 2019, before the Covid caused the numbers to drop).This measure is welcomed by most, but the island populations on Orta, Finnøya, Sandøya and Ona are afraid that their little ferry may be overcrowded by tourists, preventing them from bringing their own cars along, so they have negotiated a deal with the company for a resident priority pass in case they would need it, which means that casual travelers may have to wait for the next departure in the event of too many vehicles.Further north, where the vessels are bigger, the issue has another aspect. The main connection between Bodø and Moskenes also serves the islands Værøy and Røst. So while the direct crossing is not included in the free sailing project and costs CAD 97 for a small car, you can travel for free if you make a stopover on one of the islands and takes the next departure. The local politicians welcome this as a possibility for increased tourism.Ferry Kvaløy loading up at Småge for Orta, Finnøya, Sandøya and Ona. (Photo: rbnett.no)
Ferry Bodø about to dock at Moskenes (Photo: Dag G Nordsveen / Samfoto/Scanpix)
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Post by Kahloke on Jul 3, 2022 6:46:50 GMT -8
Free ferries!From 1 July 2022, the Norwegian government has decided that certain ferry crossings will be free of charge for drivers and passengers. It affects isolated coastal and island communities with no fixed road connection to the outside world + routes with less than 100000 travelers per year (as of 2019, before the Covid caused the numbers to drop).This measure is welcomed by most, but the island populations on Orta, Finnøya, Sandøya and Ona are afraid that their little ferry may be overcrowded by tourists, preventing them from bringing their own cars along, so they have negotiated a deal with the company for a resident priority pass in case they would need it, which means that casual travelers may have to wait for the next departure in the event of too many vehicles.Further north, where the vessels are bigger, the issue has another aspect. The main connection between Bodø and Moskenes also serves the islands Værøy and Røst. So while the direct crossing is not included in the free sailing project and costs CAD 97 for a small car, you can travel for free if you make a stopover on one of the islands and takes the next departure. The local politicians welcome this as a possibility for increased tourism. Interesting. I'll be curious to see how this goes. That concept seems so foreign to us. Can you imagine BC Ferries making some of the smaller ferry-dependent routes free of charge? I can understand why residents of those islands want a priority pass to ensure tourist traffic doesn't fill all of the vessels. When Washington State Ferries introduced the vehicle reservation system for the Anacortes to Orcas Island and Anacortes to Friday Harbor routes, they had to get creative to appease island residents concerns that vehicle slots would fill up months in advance and there would be little to no space available for "game day decision" traveling. WSF's response was to release reservations for each sailing in tiers. The first 30% of the vessel's space would be released at the beginning of the schedule period (typically 3 months ahead, I think - somewhere around there). The next 30% gets released two weeks ahead of the sailing, and the final 30% gets released 2 days ahead of the sailing. The last 10% is kept open for standby traffic, medical emergencies, and possibly commercial vehicle reservations, which existed before this new reservation system was conceived. For the most part, the system works. Yes, it makes it difficult to plan a last-minute trip to the mainland on the day of the sailing, but if you know you're going to go a couple of days before, you should be able to secure a reservation. And, you can always go standby, and on sailings that don't fill up, you'll get on. All in all though, it's better than the old first come-first serve method - that simply became unstainable due to the rising traffic levels. |
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heretix
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Post by heretix on Jul 3, 2022 13:45:30 GMT -8
Kahloke
Thanks for the update on WSF!
So far, around 60 ferry routes in Norway are affected by the changes; and most of them have enough capacity and frequent departures to handle the increased traffic.
I forgot to mention that the remaining stretches have been promised a 50% reduction in fares, but this has yet to be approved by the government and parliament.
Car owners here are already burdened with high fuel costs. One litre of 95 octane or diesel is now around NOK 27, which correspons to CAD 3.50. So it became so expensive to live on islands and in roadless areas where the ferry is the only link to the outside world that the politicians had to do something to prevent those communitues from experiencing a mass-exodus of inhabitants.
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