DCN Newsmaker of the Year, Incat Tasmania founder and chairman Robert Clifford, has capped off an already impressive year with confirmation Denmark’s Molslinjen has ordered a third high-speed battery-electric ferry.
The contract expands the companies’ partnership and advances the world’s largest electrification project at sea, with all three 129-metre vessels — already under construction at Incat’s Hobart shipyard — to operate across the Kattegat routes between Aarhus–Odden and Ebeltoft–Odden, one of Denmark’s busiest domestic corridors.
Incat Tasmania CEO Stephen Casey said the commitment to a third ship was an important milestone for both organisations. “Molslinjen is leading the way in the decarbonisation of high-speed ferry services in Europe, and we are proud to be delivering vessels that will play a central role in Denmark’s clean-transport future.
“This additional order reflects Molslinjen’s confidence in our people, our processes and our capability to build the world’s most advanced electric high-speed ferries. Together, we are showing what’s possible when innovation, ambition and real-world operational needs come together.”
Molslinjen CEO Kristian Durhuus said: “By building all three ferries at the same shipyard, we gain clear advantages and valuable learning from the first to the last vessel. And it is also important for us to have a stable and reliable partner, as we do with Incat.
“We and our owners are taking the lead and trying to show the way forward in the green transition using technology that, until recently, simply did not exist,” Mr Durhuus said.
The total investment for the three ferries and the associated shore infrastructure is reported to be DKK 3.5 billion ($820 million), with the project recently securing DKK 180 million in national investment support. The first vessel is expected to enter service in late 2027, the second in (northern) summer 2028, and the third in (northern) spring 2029.