Shiptec, a leading Swiss passenger shipbuilder, has been awarded approval in principle  by Lloyd’s Register , for the compressed hydrogen fuel-cell ferries Saphir and Quinten Lebt, which will operate on Lake Lucerne and Lake Walen respectively.

The 300-passenger capacity Saphir will be retrofitted with a hydrogen (H₂) fuel-cell propulsion system and currently sails a round trip from the Lucerne basin to the cross funnel of Lake Lucerne and back again.

The 12-person hybrid hydrogen catamaran Quinten Lebt will be built by Shiptec to serve the Murg West, Unterterzen, Quinten and Quinten Au piers on Lake Walen.

Both designs have been certified using LR’s Risk-based Certification (RBC-2) process which forms part of LR’s prescriptive rules of the use of hydrogen as a marine fuel, the first issued by a classification society back in 2023. This approval demonstrates the safe design of the H₂ fuel cell system onboard the two ferries.

Luke Shu, Technical Advisory Manager, Maritime Commercial Markets, Lloyd’s Register, said: “LR is pleased to have acted as a trusted adviser to both Shiptec and the Swiss Federal Office of Transport on these important projects. H₂ fuel-cells represent an effective solution to ferry operators seeking to transition their fleet to zero-emissions vessels, and LR remains on hand to support its partners using our extensive experience in certifying hydrogen powered designs.”

Martin Einsiedler, CTO, Shiptec, said: “Shiptec is proud to be a pioneer in the integration of a hydrogen fuel-cell system on a passenger vessel, especially with the concept of storing the hydrogen below deck and to make an important contribution to environmental protection. We are proud to have customers such as Schifffahrtsgesellschaft des Vierwaldstättersees (SGV) and the Quinten Lebt foundation, who trust in our development and are investing in the future.”