The Extreme E championship has now revealed it’s logistic centre and hub that will be onboard the St. Helena freight ship that will be used for transport between each of next year’s rounds to reduce the emissions produced by the series.
The ship was aquired by Extreme E in 2018 following use by Royal Mail to transport both cargo and people to and from Cape Town before an airport was built in 2016, and since the purchase it has undergone an overhaul to be ready for next year. Work on the ship includes a total overhaul of the steelwork, engines, propellors, interior and cabin space.
The ship has been selected by Extreme E to transport everything next year, which includes all cargo, the Odyssey 21 E-SUV vehicles and team members and it also has 62 cabins onboard.
A total of 30 tonnes of steelwork has been added to repair previous damage and create new elements on the ship with the original 20 square metres swimming pool being replaced by a science laboratory. The engines has been stripped and all components have either been renewed or replaced so it can run on sulphur marine diesel and the propellers have also been changed to reduce friction and improve efficacy.
There have been a total of over 30 crews onboard that have rebuilt the ship at the dry dock in Cammel Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, near Liverpool with the Extreme E logo having also now been applied to the outside of it before its public reveal.
“The St. Helena is an iconic vessel and it is a privilege to be part of the team restoring her to original glory. As Captain, it’s also been an invaluable experience to get to know her inside out before we take her off around the world on her important new mission.” Jari Lindgren, the Captain of St. Helena, said on the transformation.
“She is a perfect logistics platform and Extreme E is setting a really good example of how ships can be refurbished for efficiency and given a new lease of life. This has been an important chapter, and we’re now really looking forward to the next stage and getting into full operation, and back to a life at sea.”
“Everything you see on the St. Helena has been touched. As a 30-year old ship she needed quite a lot of work to get her ready for her new role with Extreme E and some adaptions to make her suitable for both passenger and cargo use.”Austen Brunton, Technical Project Manager at Wilson Ship Management, added.
“Seeing the St. Helena re-enter the water is a very proud moment for myself and all my team. We have spent 18 months working on her to get her into this condition and it has been great to see her finally back on the water, where she belongs. We still have some more work to do on the interior, but she is now preparing for her new lease of life in her career, with Extreme E.”
