“Surprisingly, there is no noise or vibrations”: Welcome aboard the Guillaume de Normandie, Europe’s largest hybrid ferry

"Before, the ship's vibrations would wake me up upon arrival. Now, I'm afraid of being late," laughs Elvina, the entertainment manager of the Guillaume de Normandie, the latest addition to the Brittany Ferries fleet, which entered service at the end of March . Cross-Channel ferry users are familiar with the vibrant din of a ferry maneuvering to dock. Things have changed. Like its sister ship, the Saint-Malo, which launched shortly before it, the Guillaume de Normandie is a hybrid ship. On the high seas, it is powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), and electricity takes over upon arrival at the port and then upon the next departure.

"It's surprising not to have any noise or vibrations," says Chris, a regular British passenger, struck by the difference with other ferries, particularly the old one, the Normandie, sold after 32 years of good and loyal service, and renamed Massalia to connect France to Morocco.

We boarded the Guillaume de Normandie at the beginning of June in Ouistreham (Calvados), bound for Portsmouth, England. "We're starting to get a sense of the ship," says Alexis Fleury, the captain. "We're really recognising everything we've worked on on the simulator. My counterpart and I are making the same observations: it's a very big boat, long ( 194 m, editor's note ), and heavy. You have to be careful, but it's very pleasant."

"If we didn't have the camera on the outside, we wouldn't even realize we'd left," adds Julien Combeau, second engineer. The sea rolls past the portholes. The ship leaves the port quietly, propelled by its batteries recharged during the previous crossing. "We switch to electric mode 30 minutes before arrival. We stay that way during the stopover ( 1.5 hours, editor's note ) with a small generator supplement, then for 20 minutes after departure," explains the captain. All in a few clicks from the bridge. A few clicks that free the ports from noise and exhaust emissions.

The Salamanca and the Santoña, due to enter service in 2022 and 2023, had initiated a first turning point in the renewal of the Brittany Ferries fleet with LNG propulsion which generates less smoke and fine particles, even if they emit more methane . The Saint-Malo and the Guillaume de Normandie are taking the plunge into hybrid.

A European first that had to be mastered, as with the technical U-turn finish in Ouistreham. "Under electric propulsion, it's like in cars: the response is immediate, especially when going forward," says Alexis Fleury. "But you have to anticipate much more to slow down. It's a new balance to find, also to smooth out maneuvers, so they are more efficient."

A prolonged bell ringing in the engine room, where Julien Combeau insists on "faster power delivery" and the need to "optimize energy consumption." To put it simply, the command is trying to arrive more slowly in turns, to avoid unnecessary boat movements and preserve its batteries.

However, the electric charge should not be expected to allow the ferry to sail without emissions during its three daily rotations. Thus, 20 minutes after leaving Portsmouth, as planned, a "pschit" sounds in the engine room. The electric motor slows down, the internal combustion engine takes over, and the propeller shaft accelerates. The Guillaume de Normandie reaches its cruising speed of 19 knots. Designed to go up to 23, it conserves its fuel consumption, but makes the crossing using internal combustion engines.

"For now, it's the combustion engines that are recharging our batteries," the captain makes no bones about it. The ship's purser, Tan Tot Nguyen, is looking ahead to the next step: "Electrifying the ports to achieve the goal of zero pollution at the quayside." On the English side, Portsmouth is completing the work that will allow the ship to plug in at the quayside, eliminating the need for its generator and recharging its batteries more sustainably. Perhaps even extending their use at sea a little.

In France, electrification will come a little later. But another question nags Alexis Fleury at the bridge: "We need to know the price of electricity over several years and for it to be competitive." Market fluctuations in recent years are worrying and still cause some gnashing of teeth, even though France produces more than it needs.

Like the electric car market, the model remains to be found and consolidated , on land as well as at sea. In people's minds, in any case, an electric spark seems to be taking place on board. Tan Tot Nguyen, in contact with passengers, notes that "people are aware of the novelty. There are even some who wanted to discover it. They are surprised."

Halfway between England and France, the line's two ferries, the Mont-Saint-Michel (built in 2002) and the Guillaume de Normandie, cross paths. Two generations, two propulsion systems. The latter leaves fewer fine particles in its wake.