A deal for the delivery of thirteen hybrid ferries was signed by the West Bengal government’s Transport Department and the state-owned Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd. The West Bengal Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (WBTIDCL) will run the ferries on the Hooghly River.
Aluminum and Fiber Reinforced Polymer, or FRP, will be used in the construction of these boats, which will have a catamaran hull design. Batteries and diesel generators will power the hybrid electric propulsion systems. More safety will be possible with the hybrid system since it will provide the operator more freedom to switch between modes as needed. Battery use will significantly lower pollution. The West Bengal government had previously tasked GRSE with creating a prototype for a next-generation zero-emission ferry. GRSE started this ferry, called “Dheu,” on January 11 and it was formally approved on March 22.
According to the deal, the hybrid ferries would transport people in all-weather circumstances on the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly River System, which is a section of National Waterway-1, in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA), which stretches from Triveni in the north to Diamond Harbour in the south. The contract was signed for 13 ferries, six of which will have double decks that can accommodate 200 passengers apiece. There will be air conditioning on the main deck. These boats will measure between 8–10 meters in width and 30 meters in length. Each will need a crew of five, and their top speed will be 12 knots. These six warships are expected to cost Rs 126 crore.
The remaining seven ships will only have one deck and can accommodate 100 passengers each. These boats will have a top speed of nine knots and measure around twenty-five meters in length and eight meters in width. Five crew members are accommodated on board. The estimated cost of these seven vessels is close to Rs 100 crore.
