The Belfast Maritime Consortium has announced plans to introduce a ferry service between Bangor and Belfast Harbour, scheduled to begin operations by 2024 and will be operated by Condor Ferries. The zero-emissions ferry is being developed by the Consortium’s lead partner Artemis Technologies and will have journey times of around 30 minutes.
The vessels will be powered by the transformative Artemis eFoiler enabling them to fly above the water, allowing for a comfortable ride, producing minimal wake at high-speed, while using up to 90 per cent less energy than some conventional ferries.
The Consortium’s 14 members syndicate include a spectrum of organisations from industry, academia and public bodies, including, Artemis Technologies, Ards and North Down Borough Council, Belfast City Council, Belfast Harbour, Belfast Met, Catalyst, Condor Ferries, Creative Composites, Invest Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Advanced Composites Engineering (NIACE), Power NI, Queen’s University Belfast, Spirit AeroSystems, and Ulster University and benefitted from a grant of £33 million by UKRI’s flagship Strength in Places Fund for the £60m project.
Dr Iain Percy OBE, CEO and Founder of Artemis Technologies said:
“Belfast will get a glimpse of the future when the pilot service commences operation, but it is just the beginning. We are already receiving interest from around the globe as governments and cities across the world seek sustainable transport alternatives that balance the requirement for people to continue to move around with the need to reduce carbon emissions.”
More information about the project and Belfast Maritime Consortium can be found on the consortium’s website https://belfastmaritimeconsortium.com/