Turkey builds hybrid ferries for Norway: Shipbuilder

YALOVA-Anadolu Agency

Turkey has so far built nine hybrid ferries for Norway, which is one of the world’s leading maritime nations, the deputy board chairman of Yalova-Altınova Shipbuilders Inc. said on July 12.     
 
“Norway is looking to replace [a part of] its fleet of ferries with hybrid ones [which combine diesel power with electric battery power] until 2020,” Orhan Gülcek told state-run Anadolu Agency, adding that the Nordic country was preparing to get at least 80 new ferries.      

“Some 20-25 ships have already been built, of which nine have been built in Turkey,” Gülcek said, adding that this number would increase further considering Turkey’s success in the area.      

Noting that Turkey also built battery ferries, Gülcek said there had been an increasing demand for environmentally friendly ferries, especially in Nordic countries, and Norway was the biggest market in this area.      

“Hybrid ferry business is not only new for Turkey but for the world, too. Our biggest customer at the moment is Norway,” he said.      

Gülcek said some of these ferries were being built in Norway using semi-finished products from Poland.      

“However, I believe a majority will be built in Turkey because Turkey has started to become big in this business. So far, eight to nine ferries have been built and delivered. This number will go up,” he added.