Netherlands-based Aurelia is developing a zero-emission ferry and cruise concept designed to provide cleaner connections between the islands of the Bahamas.

The company discussed the project with Silas Cooper, Honorary Consul of the Bahamas to the Netherlands, at its Amsterdam office, the firm said in an emailed update on Thursday.

In addition to carrying passengers, the vessel would serve as a platform to test green maritime technologies in real operating conditions. Aurelia and Sustainable Capital Group will now work together on the next steps of the project. The update did not specify a timeline, vessel specifications, a propulsion choice, or a prospective operator for the concept.

"We are proud and grateful for the trust shown by Consul Cooper and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Bahamas," Raffaele Frontera, Owner and CEO of Aurelia, said.

"This visit reflects a shared commitment to bringing real, deployable green technology to island transport — not as a concept on paper, but as vessels operating in real conditions."

"We look forward to building this partnership together with Sustainable Capital Group in the months ahead," Frontera said.

The Bahamas, an Atlantic archipelago of roughly 700 islands and cays, depends heavily on maritime links for travel and trade between its islands, making ferry connections a central part of the country's domestic transport network. Zero-emission vessel concepts — commonly based on battery-electric propulsion, hydrogen, or other alternative fuels — have drawn growing interest across the shipping industry as operators work to reduce emissions, a shift reinforced by the International Maritime Organization's revised greenhouse gas strategy, which targets net-zero emissions from international shipping by or around 2050.

Short, fixed ferry routes such as inter-island connections are widely viewed as an early proving ground for these technologies, because vessels run predictable schedules between known ports where charging or refueling infrastructure can be installed. Battery-electric ferries are already in commercial service in other markets, including Norway, where the all-electric car ferry Ampere entered operation in 2015.

Source: Ship & Bunker