The Vasa Line between Vaasa in Finland and Umeå in Sweden is the world's northernmost year-round international ferry route, transporting both passengers and freight. It recently received a battery upgrade with 12.6 MWh, the largest battery capacity ever installed on a RoPax vessel.
The battery capacity of the roll-on/roll-off (cargo) and passenger (pax) vessel was increased almost fivefold from the previous 2.2 MWh, and the upgraded system was approved for operation by the classification society DNV. The upgrade was started while the vessel was in service and completed at BLRT Repair Yards in Finland.
Tight schedule
Wärtsilä completed the system integration within a tight timeframe with minimal operational disruption. The Danfoss drives were configured for the additional batteries and updated to the latest versions, equipping the Aurora Botnia with state-of-the-art drive technology.
Photos: Wasaline
“It was an interesting but also very demanding project, especially given the limited timeframe. The entire propulsion system was modernized during the dock period, and battery optimization continued while the ship was back in operation. Our partners did an excellent job,” says Jonas Teir, Technical Director of Wasaline.
drive system modernized
“We would like to sincerely thank all the partners involved, Rescue Team Finland for their excellent on-site support, from fire watch to installation work, Tallinn Shipyard for the steel and pipe work, and especially the entire crew, particularly the technical department on board, for their professionalism and extreme adaptability required to carry out such a project during normal operations,” said Teir.
