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11-passenger electric catamaran begins St. Petersburg service
St. Petersburg has launched the 11-passenger EFT07 electric catamaran Eternal for quiet river and canal tours up to 5 km from shore.
Image: ITzine
Image source: Neva Travel
St. Petersburg has launched the lead EFT07 electric catamaran, Eternal, built at the local Forss Technologies shipyard. The vessel now operates on the city’s rivers and canals from the Yelagin Island pier.
The craft is designed for quiet sightseeing rather than speed. It carries 11 passengers, has a top speed of 11 km/h, and is intended for waterways classified as “R” pools: waves up to 1.2 meters, wind speeds up to 13 m/s, and operation up to 5 km from shore.
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EFT07 specifications
- Length: 7.5 meters
- Width: 3.5 meters
- Side height: 0.9 meters
- Draft: 0.3 meters
- Speed: 11 km/h
- Passenger capacity: 11 people
- Operating area: “R” pools
- Maximum distance from shore: 5 km
The limits are relatively strict for a tourist vessel, but fit the protected waterways where city excursions typically operate. Its compact hull, maneuverability, and near-silent propulsion are better suited to short urban routes and slow cruises than rapid transit.
That format could be useful in St. Petersburg, where water-based tourism operates for only several months each year and competes with bus excursions. A smaller vessel is also easier to fit into crowded traffic and existing pier infrastructure. Unlike many diesel-powered excursion boats still operating in the city, the Eternal does not bring engine noise to the experience.
Electric vessels are also gaining attention on Russian waterways, particularly for regular urban services and tourism, where the difference between electric and diesel propulsion is immediately noticeable. If the Eternal performs well on St. Petersburg’s routes, the EFT07 project could attract more customers than a single excursion line.
Maxim Tretyakov is a technology columnist focused mainly on the mobile-phone market and automotive technologies. He has written 740 articles covering flagship smartphone launches, including Xiaomi and Apple, neural-network features in consumer devices, and the current state of Russia’s domestic automotive industry. His expertise also includes hardware launches, from graphics-card concepts to smart rings, as well as legal issues in the technology market.
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via ITzine
