Zero Emissions on the Spree: Berlin's Only All-Electric Boat Fleet
Zero Emissions on the Spree: Berlin's Only All-Electric Boat Fleet
The Spree moves quietly through the centre of Berlin. Kayakers, rowers, swans. City buildings reflected in dark water. The government district, the Museum Island, the Cathedral — all of them arranged along a river that has been at the heart of Berlin life for centuries.
There is only one way to move through this landscape the way it deserves: silently.
FLAGSHIP.BERLIN is the only boat operator in Berlin with a fully electric fleet. Every vessel — the Fitzgerald, the Hemingway, the Havanna — runs without diesel, without combustion, without direct emissions of any kind. This is not a recent marketing decision. It is the result of a long-term commitment that began years before electric propulsion became fashionable in the tourism industry.
Why It Matters
Inland waterway shipping is a significant source of urban pollution — one that receives far less attention than road traffic. According to the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt), Berlin's passenger boat fleet generates roughly as much particulate matter as 120,000 cars. Around 30% of waterside emissions in city areas come from shipping.
The Spree is a public space. It is home to fish, waterfowl, and riparian vegetation. It is used daily by kayakers, stand-up paddleboarders, swimmers, and the residents who live along its banks. Diesel exhaust settles on the water surface, introduces hydrocarbons into the ecosystem, and affects the air quality of the surrounding neighbourhood.
There is a straightforward answer to this: electric propulsion.
The Fitzgerald: Berlin's First Electric Passenger Vessel
At the end of 2021, the Fitzgerald became the first passenger vessel on Berlin's waters to be converted to full electric propulsion. The conversion involved a 55 kW electric motor and a 200 kWh battery pack — substantial figures for a ship of her size, and enough to run a full day of tours on a single charge.
The technical result is unremarkable in the best sense: the Fitzgerald simply runs, silently, without generating any direct emissions on the water. She charges overnight at the pier.
The experiential result is anything but unremarkable. On a diesel vessel, the engine creates a constant low-frequency vibration through the hull, a background rumble that sits beneath everything — conversation, music, the audio guide. Guests eventually stop noticing it. On the Fitzgerald, there is none of that. The only sounds are the water at the bow, the audio guide, and the lounge music on the return leg. In the middle of one of Europe's largest capital cities, you find yourself in something close to silence.
The Hemingway: 110 Years Old, Zero Emissions Since 2025
The Hemingway is a salon ship built around 1914 — over 110 years old. She came into the FLAGSHIP.BERLIN fleet in late 2023. In winter 2024/25, she underwent a complete propulsion refit, converting from diesel to full electric drive.
The refit involved the same commitment as the Fitzgerald conversion: a complete replacement of the propulsion system, new battery infrastructure, new charging equipment at the pier. It was not the simple option. It was the right one.
The Hemingway now carries up to 70 guests in near-complete silence, past the Reichstag and the Museum Island and the Berliner Dom, on a ship that has been part of Berlin's waterway history for over a century. She is, simultaneously, one of the oldest vessels on the Spree and one of the most technologically progressive.
The Full Fleet
With the Hemingway conversion complete, FLAGSHIP.BERLIN operates the only 100% electric fleet among Berlin's passenger boat operators:
| Vessel | Type | Propulsion | |--------|------|------------| | Fitzgerald | Motor yacht, 1920s commuter style | Fully electric (55 kW / 200 kWh) | | Hemingway | Historic salon ship, ~1914 | Fully electric (since 2025) | | Havanna | Admiral's barge, ~1914 | Electric | | Lander | Modern passenger launch | Charter | | Express | Speedboat | Charter |
What This Means for Guests
The environmental case for electric propulsion is clear. But the guest experience is equally affected — and entirely positively.
Silence. The most immediate difference. With no engine running beneath your feet, the tour becomes genuinely quiet. You can hear the audio guide without straining. You can hold a normal conversation. On the return leg, when the guide gives way to music, you hear the music properly — not competing with engine noise.
No fumes. Diesel exhaust on the water is unpleasant. On the Spree in midsummer, enclosed between bridges and buildings, it accumulates. On an electric vessel, the air stays clean throughout the tour.
No vibration. Electric motors produce none of the low-frequency vibration that diesel engines transmit through a hull. The ride is smoother and more comfortable.
A different kind of experience. One guest from Coca-Cola put it precisely: the Fitzgerald "gleitet elektrisch, unglaublich gelassen dahin" — glides electrically, with extraordinary calm. That is exactly what it feels like.
A Position, Not a Campaign
Sustainability is sometimes treated as a communications exercise — a set of claims about environmental responsibility that exist primarily in marketing materials. At FLAGSHIP.BERLIN, the electric fleet predates any external pressure to adopt it. The Fitzgerald conversion happened in 2021, when electric passenger vessels in Berlin were essentially unknown.
The position is simple: the Spree is a shared resource. Boats that burn diesel on it affect every other person who uses it — kayakers, riverside residents, the ecosystem itself. The only responsible approach for a company that depends on the health of that waterway is to operate without burning anything.
The fact that this also produces the best possible guest experience — silent, smooth, clean — is not a coincidence. The same characteristics that make electric propulsion good for the environment make it better for everyone on board.
Book an Electric Boat Tour in Berlin
Both of FLAGSHIP.BERLIN's sightseeing ships — the Fitzgerald and the Hemingway — run daily from late March to early October, departing from the pier at Paul-Löbe-Haus beside the Reichstag.
Tickets from €25 (Hemingway) and €35 (Fitzgerald).