As reported in Seatrade Cruise News yesterday, the Portugal-based river line Douro Azul has just announced it’s building the world’s first river cruise vessel using completely electric propulsion. The 126-passenger vessel is slated for a March 2019 delivery by the Portuguese shipyard West Sea.
Mário Ferreira, president & CEO of Mystic Invest and its subsidiary, Douro Azul, told a river cruise conference at Seatrade Europe in Hamburg this week that improved battery technology — toward smaller, less expensive units — has now made the realisation of an electrically-driven river vessel possible. During its daily stops along Portugal’s Douro River, the boat will be connected to the shoreside electrical supply for battery recharging.
The news is a welcome step forward in the river cruise industry’s sustainability efforts. The majority of experts are in agreement that electric propulsion is the most obvious and most efficient path ahead.
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