Design of the UKs first new Fully Electric Domestic Passenger Vessel

Voyager Marine is being adversely affected by COVID-19 and it is likely to see a continued fall in revenue as its customers significantly reduce their annual maintenance periods. Voyagers' customers are Domestic Passenger Vessels (DPVs) and fishing vessels which would normally occupy the boatyard for the much of the year, in 2020/2021 this will not happen. We have determined to make use of the opportunity created by developing zero-carbon, fully electric propulsion systems for the DPV and under 24m commercial workboat sector.

The funding provided will enable us to design a vessel to operate on the vital and busy commuter route between Cornwall and Plymouth. The vessel will operate for up to 14 hours per day without the need to plug in to recharge. The design will focus on a clean hydrodynamically efficient hull form to maximise the use of the stored energy available, be of a design and construction that will allow it to be able to effectively operate in a congested maritime environment, with strong tidal conditions, rough seas and challenging berthing locations. The design will exemplify the forward-looking approach that Voyager Marine is taking and will potentially include additional zero-carbon solutions such as an extensive cluster of photovoltaic panels or similar renewable energy sources.

This will enable the business to transition from a traditional boatyard, building and maintaining a significant number of the DPVs in operation around the UK today to a progressive boatyard, operating as a specialist hub with the knowledge base, skills and capabilities to design, build, convert and maintain zero-carbon, fully electric propulsion, commercial vessels into the future. This will make Voyager a very special place, allowing us to develop the boatyard, which includes a talented, skilled local workforce into an internationally recognised centre to meet the needs of the zero-carbon commercial vessel market of the near future.

Our aims and objectives match fully those of the UK central government through the Clean Maritime Plan, which aims to have zero-carbon commercial vessels operating in UK waters by 2025\. In addition both Cornwall County Council and Plymouth City Council have established targets of being carbon neutral by 2030, our plans will also go a considerable way to supporting these objectives, by reducing the emissions of those vessels operating close inshore to zero by becoming fully electric.

The boatyard will be working closely with a team of naval architects from the Southwest, together with the vessel operator to ensure that we achieve a design which exemplifies the zero-carbon nature of the vessel, utilises renewable energy ideas i.e. Photovoltaic solar panels, is operationally effective in a harsh maritime environment and can operate effectively without regular charging for up to 14 hours per day. The designs must also gain the approval of the regulator to enable them to be used for the construction of the UK's first Fully Electric Domestic Passenger Vessel.