CMAL Wins Prestigious International Award

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) has won Electric and Hybrid Propulsion System of the Year for MV HALLAIG at the inaugural Electric & Hybrid Marine Awards in Amsterdam, The Netherlands last night (Thursday 26 June 2014).

The ceremony hosted at the 2014 Electric and Hybrid Marine World Expo, the international exhibition of electric and hybrid marine propulsion systems, technologies and components, honoured the world’s finest engineers, innovations and products in the electric and hybrid marine arena.

CMAL was awarded Electric and Hybrid Propulsion System of the Year for MV HALLAIG, the world’s first seagoing passenger and vehicle roll-on, roll-off hybrid ferry to incorporate a low-carbon hybrid system of diesel electric and lithium ion battery power. The technology is cleaner, quieter and cheaper to operate and maintain than ever before. The vessel is powered by small diesel generator sets, feeding power to a 400 volt switchboard, which supplies power to electric propulsion motors that turn the propellers.

Commenting on winning the award, Tom Docherty, Chief Executive of CMAL said:

“We are absolutely delighted to have received such a prestigious award among so many other deserving projects.  We are committed to leading the way in innovative ferry design and building for the future and it is very rewarding to have this work recognised by our peers throughout the world.”

The judging panel include 24 of the world’s leading marine journalists, industry experts and academics.

John Thornton, assistant editor at Electric and Hybrid Marine Technology International magazine and chairman of the Electric & Hybrid Marine Awards, said:

“The Awards are all about acknowledging and rewarding the companies that have developed exceptional technologies within this crucial area of marine propulsion. CMAL is a worthy winner of this award and its work is very important in the development and implementation of strong, usable and relevant electric and hybrid technology in the industry.”

CMAL owns the ferries, ports and harbours and infrastructure necessary for vital ferry services serving the West coast of Scotland and the Clyde Estuary. CMAL are wholly owned by Scottish Ministers. Scottish Government is providing CMAL with a loan of £20 million for the procurement of hybrid vessels.  The Low Emission Hybrid Ferries Project received additional funding of £450,000 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).