Norled’s new ferry was built at Ada Shipyard in Turkey and equipped at Westcon in Ølen. After the long journey home from Turkey and three months at Westcon, MF “Hidle” entered service on Saturday, December 11.
-“This is a bright, pleasant and clear ferry for passengers. The conditions for the crew are also good and functional. I like it here,” says Captain Nils Helmikstøl.
Project manager for MF “Hidle”, Hilde-Kristin Sæter, has followed the ferry from concept to fully equipped vessel. She joined Norled in 2019 and was quickly given responsibility for MF “Ombo” and MF “Hidle”.
– Building ferries during the corona pandemic has been exciting and challenging. We managed a trip to the shipyard in Turkey, but have since had a number of inspections via video. Fortunately, we have had a good site team that has followed up in Turkey,” says Sæter.
Operations Manager, Annette Røberg, is also pleased with MF “Hidle”.
– I think passengers will appreciate a ferry with greater capacity, a kiosk offer, is spacious and has better universal design. We’re increasing the capacity of the service by 12 car seats.
MF “Hidle” will have room for 60 cars and 195 passengers. It will run on biodiesel and is energy-optimized
– “The hull has been built to use as little energy as possible, and silicone bottom material has been used to make it easier to glide through the water and avoid fouling,” explains Røberg.
The ferry is prepared for future use of hydrogen if this becomes relevant.
