These are vessels designed and constructed to use conventional gas as well as electrical sources of propulsion.
Hybrid ships are not fully electric and are in ‘co-existence’ with an engine.
For several operations having low power requirements, the supply can be generated entirely from the batteries themselves.
The main engine does not suffer high amounts of loading as this extra power requirement is compensated by the given alternate means.
These have mechanisms deploying the two supplies simultaneously as and when required.
Hybrid Ships are of 2 types: Plug-in-Hybrid Ships and Conventional Hybrid Ships
Plug-in hybrid ships charge their batteries when in a dock or terminal using shore power.
Conventinal hybrid ships do not require a routine recharge at the shore.
Successful hybrid installations have shown fuel savings in the order of 15-20% as compared to traditional diesel-only propulsion.
An engine operating at optimal load always is one of the benchmarks of propulsive efficiency.
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