Norway has been breaking into the electric boat business for years. Now the country’s capital city is using an innovative new model to collect floating garbage around its harbours and in the inner Oslo Fjord.
The new vessel has been billed as the world’s first electric “environmental boat” of its kind. Called the Pelikan II, it will replace the city’s former vessel used for floating garbage collection over the past 30 years.
The new vessel’s 554kw batteries can keep it sailing for eight to 12 hours, according to a press release from the Oslo Harbour Authority. It features two cranes and hydraulic collection baskets that can pick up 350 kilos of garbage and lift heavier objects thrown into the sea.
Pelikan II was built at the Grovfjord Mekaniske Verksted (shipyard) in Northern Norway at a cost of NOK 23 million (USD 2.6 million). Two electric motors and four electric side propellers power the 12-meter-long aluminum boat, which has a top speed of nearly 10 knots. Harbour and shipyard officials noted that the vessel can be operated by just one person, with most functions steered from the captain’s seat.
It’s all meant to contribute to cleaner waters around Oslo, in an emissions-free manner. The Norwegian government has recently been promoting an international campaign to clean up the seas and especially remove plastics and microplast from the waters.
The Pelikan II was christened last week by 14-year-old Tora Elgsaas of the youth environmental group Miljøagentene. She claimed it was important for the adult generation to “turn over fresh and healthy fjords to the next generations,” as she splashed alcohol-free bubbly against its hull.
newsinenglish.no staff
