{"id":54346,"date":"2025-04-27T08:58:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-27T08:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/54346\/"},"modified":"2025-04-27T08:58:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-27T08:58:10","slug":"the-uks-incredible-120m-electric-ferry-crossing-opening-soon-uk-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/54346\/","title":{"rendered":"The UK’s incredible \u00a3120m electric ferry crossing opening soon | UK | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imagine being able to cross England’s<\/a> biggest river in just three minutes? Now you can with the opening of the groundbreaking electric ferry, known as the Orbit Clipper, across the Thames, the longest river that flows entirely in England. In a massive advancement for sustainable river transport, Uber<\/a> Boat by Thames Clippers has announced that the UK’s first fully electric zero-emission cross-river passenger ferry will be fully operational later this spring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It cost between \u00a3120million and \u00a3130milliion to build compared to the estimated cost of a new bridge, coming at least at \u00a3460million. The crossing from Canary Wharf to the newly opened Rotherhithe Pier takes just minutes. In a latest update, Thames Clippers said: “The new Rotherhithe Pier is now in place and we can\u2019t wait to welcome passengers back to this key stop on our route. The RB4 has resumed normal service between Canary Wharf and Rotherhithe, and will initially served by Twinstar. Orbit Clipper will begin crossings later this spring.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Built at Wight Shipyard Co in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, this innovative vessel will provide an accessible, green and fast route across the Thames seven days a week, enabling over 20,000 Londoners and visitors to travel every weekday… and the journey\u00a0 only takes three minutes!<\/p>\n

Orbit Clipper is now operating between London\u2019s Canary Wharf on the north side of the Thames and Rotherhithe on the south, offering an efficient and eco-friendly service for cross-river transport.<\/p>\n

The vessel will cross the river every 10 minutes from each side on weekdays and every 15 minutes at weekends. The 150-passenger ferry, with capacity for 100 bicycles, features a roll-on\/roll-off design that enables automated docking on both sides. This innovation enhances accessibility, reduces journey times, and increases capacity for both foot and cycle passengers.<\/p>\n

This zero-emission vessel is part of Uber Boat by Thames Clippers’ broader sustainable innovation initiative, according to Transport for London. Following the recent addition of three hybrid high-speed vessels to its main fleet of River Buses, each cutting emissions by up to 90%, Orbit Clipper underlines the business\u2019s commitment to creating green transport solutions for London\u2019s commuters and leisure travellers. The project is a significant step towards Uber Boat by Thames Clippers\u2019 ambitious target of reducing carbon emissions by 50% by 2035 and achieving net-zero by 2050.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sean Collins, co-founder and CEO of Uber Boat by Thames Clippers said:\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a real British success story. All of our new boats are proudly built in the UK using the latest green technology at Wight Shipyard Co on the Isle of Wight. This new vessel will launch within our 25th year of operation and it reaffirms our investment in both the local Isle of Wight economy and in London.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis zero-emission solution also comes after the recent launch of our third hybrid boat \u2013 Mars Clipper \u2013 into our main River Bus fleet and is the next step on our journey to advancing sustainable maritime technology. The Thames is the lifeblood of our great capital and it\u2019s our ambition to continue to push for further progression along the river – we\u2019re calling upon London\u2019s maritime businesses and government bodies to collaborate and ensure a greener future for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toby Mumford, CEO, Wight Shipyard, said: \u201cAt Wight Shipyard we\u2019re thrilled to strengthen our partnership with Uber Boat by Thames Clippers by building its first zero-emission vessel. This was our first build accessing the Innovate UK grant funding in partnership with Uber Boat by Thames Clippers, Beckett Rankine and Aqua superPower. Having already delivered six vessels, of which three are hybrid boats, for the fleet, this milestone represents not only a significant step forward for sustainable maritime innovation in the UK but also highlights the international potential for British-built electric vessels. We hope and expect that it is the first of many.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an honour to contribute to Uber Boat by Thames Clippers\u2019 25-year legacy, and we\u2019re proud that our work here on the Isle of Wight supports both the local economy and the evolution of cleaner, greener transport solutions for London and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tim Beckett, Director, Beckett Rankine added : \u201cIt’s now five years since Beckett Rankine and Uber Boat by Thames Clippers came up with the concept for a zero-emission roll-on\/roll-off ferry at Rotherhithe, as an alternative to the then proposed bridge. I am delighted that this vision is now being realised, with the aid of Wight Shipyard building the vessel and Aqua Superpower providing the shore power connections.”<\/p>\n

A single adult fare using an Oyster card, online, or the app for the RB4 River Bus from Canary Wharf to Rotherhithe is \u00a35.90. If you purchase the ticket at the pier, it will cost \u00a37.10.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Imagine being able to cross England’s biggest river in just three minutes? Now you can with the opening…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54347,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,28892,393,28890,4884,257,28891,5442,28894,28893,28889,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-54346","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-electric-ferry","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-ferries","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-london","14":"tag-orbit-clipper","15":"tag-renewable-energy","16":"tag-sustainable-transport","17":"tag-thames-clippers","18":"tag-thames-water","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114409105271368449","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}