Silverstream Technologies’ air lubrication system is to be installed on two Superstar ro-pax vessels to be built for the Grimaldi subsidiary, Finnlines.
Construction of the first of the vessels, at the China Merchants Nanjing Jinling Shipyard (Weihai), will begin this summer. The two 235-metre vessels, which have a capacity of 5,100 lane metres and will carry up to 1,100 passengers, will be delivered by 2023 to operate between Finland and Sweden across the Baltic Sea.
Installation of the Silverstream system will cut fuel consumptions and emissions on the vessels. The technology uses a series of air release units (ARUs) in the flat bottom of a vessel to generate a rigid carpet of microbubbles that travel the full length of the hull. Silverstream says it has already begun manufacturing the air release units (ARUs) for the Superstar vessels and will start working with the shipyard on the onboard installation.
The Finnlines contract award follows the recent completion of trials of the Silverstream system on another Grimaldi Group newbuild Ro-Ro vessel, the Eco Valencia. Fuel and emissions savings of 5.1% were recorded during ALS testing on the Grimaldi Green 5th Generation (GG5G) Ro-Ro carrier. Silverstream continues to progress with installations across the rest of Grimaldi’s GG5G fleet.
