Baltic Workboats and Western Baltija Shipbuilding to construct fully electric inland waterways tanker

A 42m-long fully electric waste collection tanker is to be built by Baltic Workboats and Western Baltija Shipbuilding – a subsidiary of the BLRT Grupp – for the Port of Klaipeda, Lithuania.

Designed to collect waste from other vessels arriving at the port, the vessel will be fitted with a fully electric propulsion system and 2,000kWh of batteries to enable 8kts over an eight-hour operating period before needing to be recharged. Automation technologies will also be fitted to increase efficiency by optimizing power consumption.

Once a detailed design is finalized, Western Baltija Shipbuilding will construct the vessel’s hull before installing most of the required auxiliary systems. Baltic Workboats will then install the electric propulsion and control systems – consisting of the battery packs and a power management system. The navigation and automation solutions will also be installed by Baltic Workboats.

At present, the design of the tanker is underway, with construction scheduled to start autumn 2023, ahead of an estimated delivery date in summer 2025.

“We are very pleased to have signed another contract for an all-electric vessel construction,” commented Rimo Timm, head of sales at Baltic Workboats. “We have built hybrid and electric ferries and patrol vessels in the past and are excited to build our first tanker with fully electric propulsion – what makes us especially proud is that it will sail in one of the Baltic states. We are anticipating working together with the Port of Klaipeda again, having built workboats and pilot boats for them in the past.”

“Our shipyard is delighted to be part of a consortium with Baltic Workboats to construct, paint and equip a waste collection vessel that will contribute to reducing the environmental impact in the harbor waters where the subsidiaries of BLRT Grupp operate,” commented Ilja Andrusenko, head of marketing at Western Baltija Shipbuilding. “We have previously built vessels with different types of engines, but this will be the first all-electric engine vessel we construct.”