Battery Ferries: Helios, China Zorrilla, & BC Ferries Compared

Viking Line’s recently announced fully electric ferry, Helios, represents one of the most ambitious maritime electrification projects to date, and offers a powerful indicator of how quickly and fundamentally ferry travel is being transformed by battery-electric propulsion. Expected to be delivered in the early 2030s, it will operate between Helsinki and Tallinn in Finland. The Helios is projected to carry 2,000 passengers, 650 cars, and 2,000 lane-meters of cargo, covering the 80-kilometer route entirely on battery power.

In a previous article, I wrote about another pioneering electric ferry, the China Zorrilla, mistakenly asserting that it would serve the Buenos Aires to Montevideo route. Mea culpa. The Zorrilla, a high-speed catamaran being built by Tasmania’s Incat shipyard for operator Buquebus, will actually operate on the shorter and more manageable Buenos Aires–Colonia del Sacramento route, a distance of roughly 93 kilometers.

Meanwhile, in British Columbia, Canada, BC Ferries has recently become the center of some controversy after awarding a significant contract to China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyard to build four new hybrid-electric ferries. I’d written about the decision to electrify their largest class of ferries previously, but now more details, and controversy, have unfolded.

These vessels are designed as diesel-battery hybrids initially, transitioning toward full-electric operations as shoreside charging infrastructure becomes available in the coming years. The ships are meant to replace BC Ferries’ aging C-class vessels, each new ferry accommodating about 2,100 passengers and roughly 360 vehicles. The planned delivery timeline for these ferries is between 2029 and 2031, with initial deployments anticipated on the routes connecting Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland.

The choice to outsource construction to a Chinese shipyard rather than Canadian facilities has provoked strong objections from local unions, shipbuilding advocates, and opposition political figures. Critics argue this decision undercuts local industrial capacity, national security interests, and long-term economic strategy. BC Ferries maintains that the Chinese shipyard provided the most competitive bid in an open global competition and the best technological capability within their global procurement process.

There’s more sour grapes and political grand standing involved in this than any real concern, as Canadian ship yards didn’t actually submit bids despite having all the time in the world to engage with the process and prepare for the tender. That’s likely due to a combination of factors. The first is that Canada’s ship building capacity is almost non-existent by global standards, and almost entirely focused on non-commercial vessels. One to two relatively small defense, coast guard or research vessels are delivered each year, with refurbishment and small craft dominating the mix. Four C-class ropax ferries is likely equivalent to eight years of Canada’s ship building output.

There’s a good reason for Canada not building commercial vessels, by the way. The United States wouldn’t let them operate on U.S. domestic routes due to the increasingly limiting Jones Act that requires all commercial vessels of any size originating and terminating in U.S. ports be built, owned and operated by American firms, flagged as American and crewed by Americans. As such, any ships built in Canada couldn’t be sold to the huge market next door or operate in it. Of course, America’s commercial ship building industry has almost disappeared as well, being now almost entirely devoted to the absurdly oversized US naval demand.

There’s likely another reason no Canadian firm submitted a bid. They knew that they couldn’t possibly be competitive. China’s ship building firms are globally dominant. In 2024, between 71% and 74% of all ship orders in the world went to Chinese firms, up from 59% a couple of years earlier. That’s in context of a boom in ship orders in the years, with over $200 billion in orders placed, in many cases for theoretically greener dual fuel ships and actually greener battery powered vessels like BC’s ferries. Former ship building giants South Korea and Japan received most of the rest, but are probably wondering what hit them given their fall from majority share to table scraps.

BC could have mandated local construction, and indeed did have a 2021 policy of re-establishing at least some of its local industry. However, as a passenger on BC ferries and a tax payer in the province, I’m happy with ferries that will be delivered on time, for a lot less cost and that are much more likely to be robust marine vessels that operate without fuss or bother. Burdening local transit organizations with local purchasing rules just makes the transit costs a lot higher, higher than fares can cover. Look at Winnipeg and New Flyer.

Unlike Canada, Finland, where Viking Line operates, has maintained a decent ship building industry for ferries, cruise ships and ice-class vessels. They are fully capable of building the large electric ferry. The design and planning of Helios are already occurring in collaboration with Rauma Marine Constructions, and the vessel is expected to be built either there or at Helsinki Shipyard, both major shipyards in Finland.

The three ferry designs vary significantly in size, propulsion, and operational strategy. Viking Line’s Helios, at roughly 195 meters long and 30 meters wide, is the largest of the group, designed for up to 2,000 passengers, 650 cars, and substantial freight capacity across 2,000 lane-meters. It will run solely on battery-electric propulsion with an immense battery bank of 85–100 MWh, requiring dedicated shoreside infrastructure capable of supplying more than 30 MW of charging at both the Helsinki and Tallinn terminals. Its operational route is short, at just 80 kilometers, comfortably within the capacity of its extensive battery and will likely only require 13 MWh, with the larger batteries specified for operational contingencies such as a power outage at one port.

The China Zorrilla, built by Tasmanian firm Incat, contrasts notably as a high-speed catamaran with twin hulls designed explicitly for rapid crossings of approximately 93 kilometers between Buenos Aires and Colonia with a cruising speed of 25 knots and potential for 28 knots. Its smaller capacity (around 2,100 passengers but only 225 cars) aligns with its more streamlined operational profile, powered by a 40 MWh battery supplying Wärtsilä-designed waterjets. The Zorrilla focuses on rapid turnaround, charging from 20% to 80% in about 40 minutes with ultra-fast chargers at both ends of its route.

BC Ferries’ new vessels, meanwhile, occupy a transitional space. Smaller than Helios but also single-hulled, each will carry approximately 2,100 passengers and about 360 vehicles. Unlike the pure-electric Helios and China Zorrilla, these ferries will initially operate as diesel-battery hybrids, incrementally transitioning to full electric propulsion as shoreside charging infrastructure expands. Their routes between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia are comparatively shorter but currently lack sufficient infrastructure for fully electric operation from day one.

Comparing these three ferry projects illustrates the diversity of approaches and trade-offs now evident in the maritime electrification sector. Helios represents the upper end of battery-electric ambition, leveraging large batteries, high-capacity charging infrastructure, and significant European policy backing to achieve zero emissions on a major regional route. China Zorrilla, meanwhile, highlights the practicality of high-speed electric operations on mid-distance routes, offering a rapid turnaround charging strategy and proven technological integrations. The BC Ferries hybrid-electric vessels embody a more incremental approach, initially relying on diesel hybrids while methodically moving toward full electrification as infrastructure matures, balancing near-term pragmatism with long-term sustainability goals.

Each of these vessels underscores the critical importance of matching ferry design and propulsion technology to the specific characteristics of their intended routes, including route length, speed requirements, turnaround times, infrastructure readiness, and local economic and political contexts. While Helios is fully electric from the start, the BC Ferries approach demonstrates how transitional hybrid systems can bridge gaps where infrastructure remains limited or uncertain. Conversely, China Zorrilla provides a compelling case of how optimized vessel design and carefully calibrated route management can achieve highly effective, fully electric maritime operations even with today’s battery technology.

Beyond the technical and operational specifics, the BC Ferries controversy illustrates a broader tension faced by many countries in managing the globalized supply chains involved in large-scale electrification projects. Decisions about whether to prioritize local industrial capabilities or leverage global shipbuilding efficiencies remain complex, deeply tied to national and regional economic strategies, industrial policy, and geopolitical considerations.

Viking Line’s Helios benefits from clear European Union support and investment in regional electrification and port infrastructure. China Zorrilla emerges from a privately driven initiative leveraging proven Australian shipbuilding expertise, Finnish propulsion technology, and Canadian battery solutions, and features an eight year return on investment. BC Ferries’ project highlights the difficult trade-offs inherent in publicly funded infrastructure decisions, balancing cost competitiveness against the long-term strategic value of local industrial capacity.

Looking globally, electric ferries are now mainstream not experimental. Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland have collectively deployed dozens of fully electric and hybrid-electric ferries. Hybrid-electric ferries now regularly operate across the English Channel, including Brittany Ferries’ ships connecting France and the UK. Elsewhere, New York’s Staten Island Ferry is moving toward battery-electric vessels, Washington State Ferries has contracted for hybrids, and multiple projects are emerging across Asia and Australasia. As I noted recently, 70% of new ferry orders have electric drive trains.

Electric ferries are now viewed not as testbeds for new technology but as proven, economically sensible, and environmentally necessary components of public transportation infrastructure. With ferries like Helios and China Zorrilla nearing deployment, and even cautious players like BC Ferries firmly committing to hybrid-electric technology, the global maritime electrification tipping point has arrived. Simply put, that ship has sailed.