The southerly hemisphere’s very first completely electrical, carbon fiber traveler ferryboat has actually efficiently finished its inaugural big salami with a Thordon salt water lubed prop shaft plan provided by New Zealand’s Henley Engineering.
Ika Rere, Mãori for flying fish, signed up with the East by West fleet in December running the firm’s Wellington to Eastbourne course.
Commenting on the ferryboat’s very first journey, in between West Queen’s Wharf and also Days Bay, Henley Engineering Managing Director, Mark Power, claimed: “Ika Rere runs like a Tesla Model S! It’s fast, efficient, smooth and quiet. It is a truly inspiring vessel. We hope to be involved in more projects like this.”
Auckland based Henley Group– Thordon’s licensed representative for New Zealand– made and also provided the vessel’s driveshafts aft of twin 325kW battery-powered electrical motors.
The range of supply consisted of a set of Thordon SXL salt water lubed prop shaft bearings set up in Easiflow GRP sterntubes; shaft seals with Thordon XL oil/grease-free overview shrubs; shaft lines and also prop; combinings, installs, propelled bearings and also brakes.
East by West Managing Director Jeremy Ward claimed: “While the quiet hum of an electric boat is a much more pleasurable experience for passengers, this project was driven by our desire to take climate action. A Thordon Bearings’ zero pollution package was the perfect fit for this eco vessel. A smooth, quiet and water lubricated driveline was an essential environmental requirement.”
The 19m (62ft) long, 135 passenger-carrying rapid pet cat is likewise the very first vessel provided by the Wellington Electric Boat Building Company (WEBBCo), a joint endeavor in between the ferryboat driver and also well-known boatbuilder Fraser Foote.
WEBBCo taking care of supervisor Fraser Foote claimed: “The ferry is very quiet at 19 knots and silent at 10 knots. It is faster and uses less energy than we anticipated. Ika Rere is a hugely successful project for us. We are the first in the southern hemisphere to have taken a vessel of this kind off the drawing board and onto the water.”
Foote advanced that cooperation in between the backyard’s internal style group and also New Zealand’s leading naval firms “was key to this success. We are extremely proud of what we’ve achieved together”.
Thordon Bearings’ Technical Director, Tony Hamilton, advanced that the seal and also bearing professional is well positioned to sustain delivery’s shift to a lasting future and also removing oil air pollution listed below the waterline.
“We are thrilled to help drive the electric ship and other alternative means of propulsion forward. The pioneering work into self-lubricating polymer materials we started in the 1970s has resulted in the portfolio of environmentally safe products we see today. We were ahead of the game then and we’re still ahead of the game now. All our products are designed to reduce the maritime industry’s impact on the environment,” claimed Hamilton.
Thordon Bearings sustains the International Maritime Organizations’ World Maritime style for 2022: New Technologies for Greener Shipping.
The style is connected to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDGs 13 and also 14 on environment activity and also lasting use the seas, seas and also aquatic sources; SDG 9 on sector, development and also facilities; and also SDG 17, which highlights the relevance of collaborations and also application to accomplish these objectives.
Sea News, March 8
