THE MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY CAR AND PASSENGER FERRY IN THE WORLD – AURORA BOTNIA The cities, Vaasa in Finland and Umeå in Sweden, on both sides of the Kvarken straight have set clear environ-mental targets: Umeå with the local Agenda 2030 programme, and the ambition of the city of Vaasa to become climate neutral by 2035. The ferry company Wasaline, owned by the two cities, has set its own targets for environmental contribution to complement these strategies. Therefore, a brand new ferry Aurora Botnia is being built by RMC in Rauma, Finland, commissioned by Kvarken Link. It is a modern ship with 2 cargo decks that will accommodate around 800 passengers and has a freight capacity of 1,500 lane meters for trucks and cars. The vessel will be designed to be environmentally friendly, with a machinery running on a dual fuel and battery solution. The main source of fuel is liquefied natural gas, LNG. The vessel will also be able to utilise biogas. Instead of lifeboats, Aurora Botnia will utilise two evacuation systems as safety equipment, that can be launched from the deck of the ship.
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The systems are based on an evacuation chute and an automatically inflatable liferaft. Aurora Botnia, which will be completed this spring, will daily operate a route between Vaasa and Umeå. This is the first new build ship for this route ever, even though there have been ferries operating this route since the 1940’s. The ship will be the most environmentally friendly car and passenger ferry in the world. It will also be a great showroom for the innovations and world class knowledge that can be found within the Vaasa energy cluster. For more details see: Home – Kvarken Link (wasaline.com) The tourism industry, as part of the global economy, will grow once travelling is back to normal again. Sustainable travel options will be needed and therefore, Finland and Vaasa as a destination are taking steps towards pursuing a more sustainable way of providing travel services. This includes integrating future trends and sus-tainable modes of travelling, sustainable accommodation and other services. The Vaasa region has every possibility to be a forerunner in this work with the brand new ferry as well as our regional interest in innovative projects involving electrical aviation solutions. Visit Finland and Visit Vaasa will together provide concrete tools for this job to all our interested businesses within the tourism sector.
by Catarina Fant| catarina.fant@wasaline.com Laila Schauman | laila.schauman@visitvaasa.fi Susanna Slotte-Kock| susanna.slotte-kock@vaasa.fi
