Image credit: The Fjords

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Norway's The Fjords has announced that it has commenced the construction of a new all-electric passenger vessel at Brodrene Aa shipyard.

Named the Legacy of The Fjords, the carbon fibre catamaran shares the design of sister ships Vision of The Fjords and Future of The Fjords, but is due to operate in an entirely new operating environment - the Norwegian capital, Oslo.

Legacy of The Fjords will use a battery solution provided by fellow Norwegian firm Westcon and employ a specially constructed Power Dock - a floating charging solution originally designed for Future of The Fjords that will enable the vessel to refill its 2.4MWh battery capacity in just 20 minutes.

The Power Dock bleeds energy from the local grid throughout the day, while also storing consumables, fuel and waste for collection; and in doing so avoids unsustainable, expensive power surges.

Its ability to store grey and black water is also designed to ensure zero emissions to water, as well as to air.

"This is a move that will surprise some in the industry, but one we see as a natural progression for this ambitious business," remarked The Fjords CEO Rolf Sandvik. "Oslo is very different from Flam, but we believe it should demand the same degree of operational responsibility and environmental care - especially seeing as it is EU Green Capital of the Year 2019. We want to set new standards for the urban environment, as we have done for the natural one, and the silent running, highly efficient, zero emission Legacy of The Fjords will allow us to do so."

On Saturday, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg confirmed that the new vessel will receive financial support from state-run organisations Enova and the NOx Fund, formed to help enable low-emission technology.

The Fjords is jointly owned by tourist body Flam AS and Norwegian ferry company Fjord1.