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.
HEIDI SARNA
