Zero emission solutions for the maritime industry

Powering up the shore charging technology: Markku Hokkanen joins 3mar Ltd as a partner.

Markku Hokkanen M.Sc., Naval Architect, has a history in Finnish cruise and ferry new building yards, Kvaerner Masa / Aker yards at the time, at ABB Marine being responsible for sales for cruise vessel segment, starting up the marine system business at Danfoss Editron, Visedo at the time and as an entrepreneur helping out SME companies to establish and develop their sales & project activities within the marine industry. He will be responsible for sales and projects at 3mar.

3mar Ltd will be further strengthening resources to meet the market requirements both in terms of performance and capacity.

An approval to install Nector on Norwegian ferry ramps

The most suitable arrangement for shore charging requires the connecting device to be installed on the side of the loading ramp. Consequent to comprehensive clarifications about the benefits, implications, risks and their mitigations Norwegian road administration Statens Vegvesen has issued Nector a concept approval. Local conditions and existing ramp constructions vary. Verifications of structural strength, capacity of lifting system etc will be done for all projects individually.

Magmoor 20: Automooring Device

3mar Ltd has developed a new revolutionary automooring device. Instead of mounting the unit on the keyside the device is designed to be mounted on the operating vessel.

- The holding power of the gripping magnets is 20 tons per unit, with a good safety margin for that value.
- The design is very slim. Just 0.5 meters. Thus it does not limit the car lanes in typical road and city ferries.
- As the device is mounted on the ferry side no radio link is needed to control the actions.
- Supporting mechanics adapt to the ship movements due to sea state and loading & offloading.
- The unit is based on bi-stable magnets. The permanent magnets do not need electric power to keep their holding power.
- Connection time is just a few seconds.

Nector 1000 passed FAT and in Delivery

The first Nector 1000, an uncomparably compact charging connecting device, has been factory acceptance tested and shipped to the customer. End customer project commissioning will be carried out on the first quarter of 2023.

Nector 1000 complements 3mar’s offering of charging connecting devices for the powers below 1,5MW, especially suitable for smaller city & road ferries and heavy duty working machines.

Nector 1000 development was based on well proven solutions of Nector 4000 & Nector 2000, using same components, materials and technology selections simplyfied and scaled down to fit the power, functional requirements and economy of 125-1500 kW applications.

Nector 1000 is AC & DC compatible, can be installed on the vessel side as well and if chosen so deletes the need of wireless communication between the vessel and the port. The device weights less than 400 kg and comes with an option of a fibre optic connection for exchanching information between the shore and the vessel while charging. 

Magmoor 20 Automooring

Magmoor 20 automatic mooring systems for Weisse Flotte GmbH’s ferries MF Warnow and MF Breitling are due to commissioning this Spring at Warnemunde. The preparations on the shore side were carried out mid December 2022. The installation works of counterplates on existing bollards at ferry berths took less than five hours each and were done during quiet night time hours without disturbance to the traffic which goes on around the clock.

Compact Magmoor 20 automooring system will be installed onboard the ferries where from they reach out towards the counterplates, attach to them with permanent magnets that can be turned on & off and maintain the ferries on their position at berth. No need to push the ferries against the piers with propellers saves money and environment.

The counterplates on the shore side are simple steel structures. No moving parts, no need for radio communication, no energy consumed to maintain the holding force of the magnets.

Magmoor 20 now in daily use by Weiße Flotte

The installation of Magmoor 20 automooring devices for Weiße Flotte on ferries MF Warnow and MF Breitling at Warnemünde (Rostock, Germany) is now complete. The system is in daily use performing hundreds of berthings per week, allowing Weiße Flotte to cut emissions, and save significant amounts of fuel, as the propellers can now be be shut off during berthing.

Nector 2000 installations in Sweden

Two Nector 2000 charging connector units were installed at Waxholm and Ljusterö ferry berths on May the 2nd and the 3rd. They will serve Färjerederiet’s autonomous electric ferries presently under construction at Holland Shipyards.

In addition to supplying the charging connection systems 3mar’s responsibilities included design, fabrication and installation of the foundations & installing the charging connecting devices on their foundations.

The local ramp construction compensates the water level variations by sliding along the slope into the sea which makes the ferry’s longitudinal position change at the same.

3mar installed a track adjacent to the ramp. Nector 2000’s foundation is a sledge that moves on the track following the ramp position and therefore adjusting to the water level variations. Maintenance, repair and replacement of the ramp element can be done without demounting the charging arrangement.

Compact Nector 2000 units do not require heavy foundations making a big saving on civil works. Two weeks prior to the equipment delivery the prefabricated foundations were lifted on their positions and installed taking a day each. Installation of Nector 2000 units took another day each.

Slender Nector 2000 units are installed on the side of the ramp, outside of the car lanes and pedestrian walkways allowing to connect from the front, the optimal direction, without disturbance to the loading operations.