Car Passenger Ferry News

Manitowoc, Wis. shipbuilder Burger Boat Company announced it has delivered a new car/passenger ferry vessel to the Eastern Upper Peninsula Transportation Authority (EUPTA), located in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.The 92-foot U.S.-made steel ferry, Neebish Island III, will operate year-round on the St. Mary’s River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula between Barbeau, Mich., and Neebish Island. The vesselwas designed by Seacraft Design, LLC of Sturgeon Bay, Wis.

Deltamarin has signed a contract with Rauma Marine Constructions Oy (RMC) for the design of a car passenger ferry for Kvarken Link AB, a Finnish-Swedish consortium.Deltamarin’s commission covers basic and detail design services for all hull and machinery areas. The value of the contract with RMC is about $4.5M. The work will be carried out over a period of 13-14 months at Deltamarin’s offices in Finland and Poland with the assistance of network companies.The ferry will have a freight capacity of 1,500 lane-meters for trucks on two cargo decks and she will accommodate 800 passengers.

Diverse Newbuild & Repair Business Buoys 2018The year 2018 is off to good start at Vigor. The Harbor Island facility welcomed a new drydock christened the Evolution. The $20 million Evolution is the third drydock at Vigor’s Seattle facility and largest in the Puget Sound region, measuring 640 x 115.5 ft. with a lift capacity of 22,000 LT.Other investments in Seattle include a buildout of a dedicated aluminum production facility which greatly expands Vigor’s fabrication capabilities and capacity for workboats…

A Solid State S-band radar with 8-ft antenna and high speed rotation – reportedly the world’s first and smallest – has been installed by JRC for the high speed car/passenger ferry Lake Express. The 192-ft USCG-inspected Subchapter catamaran travels at a service speed of 34-knots between Milwaukee, Wisc. and Muskegon, Mich. JRC said the dual X- and S-band radar installation offers Lake Express the features, design and integration of the new Multi Function Display as well as the ability to utilize a high speed S-band radar.

The trend toward the procurement of high-spec, environmentally friendly vessels continues with news that AS Tallink Grupp and Meyer Turku Oy signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the construction of an environmentally friendly car-passenger ferry for Tallinn-Helsinki route shuttle operations. The ship will cost around $286 million and will be built at Turku shipyard for delivery in the beginning of 2017. The new ferry will be about 212 m long with a gross tonnage of 49 000. The ship will operate on the route between Helsinki and Tallinn and she is planned to carry 2800 passengers.

The Port of Tallinn has signed contracts with Remontowa Shipbuilding and Sefine Shipyard shipbuilding facilities for the construction of four new car-passenger ferry boats to be used on the lines between the mainland and major Estonian islands; two ferries are to be built by each shipbuilding facility. The four new ferry boats, designed by the Norwegian company LMG Marin, will be constructed in the shipbuilding yards located in Gdánsk, Poland and Altinova, Turkey. The ferries are to be 114 meters in length with accommodation for 150 cars or 10 road trains, with 600 passenger seats equipped with life-saving devices. “The concluded contracts…

WESMAR (Western Marine Electronics, Inc.) has announced an order from Hydraquip, Tasmania, Australia, for two commercial bow thruster systems for installation on a steel-hulled car/passenger ferry. The order is for  two WESMAR Model V2-28, 185 HP, counter rotating dual-prop stainless steel bow thruster systems. They will be installed on the 187-foot M/V Queenscliff, a double ended roll-on/roll-off ferry that provides hourly service between the towns of Queensland and Sorento. The Queenscliff has been operating between the two cities since 1993. She accommodates 80 vehicles and 700 passengers.

Launching of the second car-passenger ferry, NB 1368 the Spirit of France, which STX Rauma shipyard is building for P&O Ferries, was conducted on Thursday, 17 February 2011. The vessel is a sister ship of the Spirit of Britain, which was handed over to the client in January 2011. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the client P&O Ferries and STX Finland, theclassification society Lloyd’s Register and media representatives, as well as numerous other guests invited by the shipyard and the ship-owner. As water was flooding the drydock, 1368 pieces of colourful balloons were released into the sky. “The construction of the Spirit of France continues as planned and at a rapid pace.

Launching of the second car-passenger ferry, NB 1368 the Spirit of France, which STX Rauma shipyard is building for P&O Ferries, was conducted on Thursday, 17 February 2011. The vessel is a sister ship of the Spirit of Britain, which was handed over to the client in January 2011. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the client P&O Ferries and STX Finland, the classification society Lloyd’s Register and media representatives, as well as numerous other guests invited by the shipyard and the ship-owner. As water was flooding the drydock, 1368 pieces of colourful balloons were released into the sky. “The construction of the Spirit of France continues as planned and at a rapid pace.

Car-passenger ferry Armorique was delivered on Jan. 26 from STX Europe's Helsinki yard in Finland to the French operator Brittany Ferries. The vessel is worth approximately 110 million euro and has given some 700 manyears of work for the yard. The new type of ferry has been developed by STX Europe in close cooperation with Brittany Ferries. She will be particularly fuel efficient as well as environmentally-friendly by keeping CO2 emissions to a minimum. The vessel is designed to carry passengers, cars and road cargo vehicles between France and the United Kingdom.

The tank barge Greenstone II, the first vessel to be built by Superior’s Fraser Shipyards in nearly 40 years, is tentatively scheduled to depart the Port of Duluth-Superior on Monday, May 24, the Duluth Seaway Port Authority reported today. Fraser Shipyard floated the Greenstone II at its dry dock today (May 21), and has scheduled the Marine Tech, Duluth, tug Miss Laura to escort the vessel to Houghton, Mich. The Greenstone II is a double-hulled fuel barge that will operate between Houghton and Isle Royale National Park, replacing the single hulled barge Greenstone that was retired last year. Fraser Shipyards, whose predecessors date back 113-years, is the only remaining major American shipyard and dry dock operation on the western end of the Great Lakes.

The Province of New Brunswick, Department of Transportation, recently took delivery of a new car/passenger ferry, the Deer Island Princess II, built by Hike Metal. The new vessel is a state-of-the-art design with all functions being operable from the bridge, providing efficient and timely vehicle/passenger loading/unloading turn around. The new ferry replaces an older ferry operating between the busy mainland of L'Etete and Deer Island, New Brunswick. The ferry is designed to carry up to 24 full sized cars stowed in three lanes of eight automobiles, and 95 passengers and four crew. Seating is provided in the accommodation for 14 persons plus a wheelchair allowing a minimum of 18 in. width per person.

Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (IHI) has delivered the 18,255 GT car/passenger ferry, Lilac, to its owner Shin-Nihonkai Ferry Co., Ltd. of Japan. The ferry is the first of two ferries for the owner. The keel of the ferry Lilac was laid at the IHI Yokohama Shipyard in June 2001 and launched in September of the same year. Then the ferry was towed to IHI Amtec Co., Ltd., an IHI subsidiary company located in Aioi, Hyogo Perfecture, for fabrication of the superstructures and outfitting work. The ferry entered service between Niigata and Otaru, Hokkaido, on April 5, 2002. To provide diverse passengers with increased comfort and satisfaction during a voyage, the Lilac has more private cabins than the previous ferries.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has launched the 10,000GT car/passenger ferry, Ferry Kyoto 2 (HN:1086), at its Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works for the coowners, Meimon Taiyo ferry Co., Ltd. and the Corporation for Advanced Transport and Technology (CATT) of Japan. The ferry will be completed in August 2002. The Ferry Kyoto 2 is the first of two vessels being built for the owners to replace the present ships. The ferry features barrier-free construction for disabled and elderly people. Compared with the existing ships, the new ferry consumes less fuel due to various design improvements. In particular, a ship operation support system using a computer is provided to maintain the optimal operation timetable and calculate fuel consumption.

By Regina P. The teaming of Austal Ships and Bender Shipbuilding to construct a world-class aluminum vessel construction facility in Mobile, Ala., highlights the level of investment mid-tier U.S. yards have made in the past five years. Austal, which is well regarded for its fast craft design and construction prowess, will have at its disposal arguably one of the finest plate production facilities in the country, as well as access to a market for its signature craft, which seems to be poised to boom. The two companies, however, found that through a melding of similar ideas - both on a philosophical and financial level - that they could assimilate their cultural and business practices to form what aspires to become the largest aluminum shipbuilding company in the U.S. - Austal USA.

Based in Rauma, Aker Finnyards recent history is indicative of the changes, which continue to sweep the Finnish maritime scene. Finnyards is owned 100 percent by Norwegian interests, part of Aker Yards, an international shipbuilding group comprising Aker Finnyards together with a German and two Norwegian shipyard groups. Aker Yards is owned by Aker RGI. Aker Finnyards' main activities are construction of specialized ships, vessels for oil and gas production and heavy offshore structures. While the shipyard's reign under Norwegian rule is relatively short, its experience and accrued expertise spans many decades and includes more than 1,500 ships built — both long series and extremely demanding one-offs.

The teaming of Austal Ships and Bender Shipbuilding to construct, from the ground up, a world-class aluminum vessel construction facility in Mobile, Ala., highlights the level of investment mid-tier U.S. yards have made in the past five years. Austal, which is well regarded for its fast craft design and construction prowess, will have at its disposal arguably one of the finest plate production facilities in the country, as well as access to a market for its signature craft, which is seemingly poised to boom. The two companies, however found that through a melding of similar ideas — both on a philosophical and financial level — that they could assimilate their cultural and business practices to form what aspires to become the largest aluminum shipbuilding company in the U.S. — Austal USA.

Poland boasts a varied and capable ship and boat building and repair base, a core of shipyards and marine equipment suppliers tested and proven to provide advanced marine solutions for owners both domestic and foreign. The companies, which constitute the Polish marine industry, are not unlike their colleagues from around the globe, in that the market forces of consolidation and competition continue to shape and re-shape the industry today. A sign of arrival was seen earlier this year, when Stocznia Gdynia was one of the more active participants in the push to purchase Kvaerner's two high-valued Masa-Yards facilities in Finland, and its announcement of an impending Initial Public Offering. The following serves as an update on Polish marine activities.

Aker Finnyards and SeaFrance have signed a contract worth more than $88.9 million for the construction of a new car-passenger ferry for the Dover-Calais route. Touted as the fastest and largest vessel to ever operate on that route, the 607 ft. (185 m) ferry is scheduled for a September 2001 delivery. Able to transport 1,900 passengers and 700 cars at speeds of up to 25 knots, the vessel will reportedly the fastest of its kind operating on its route; reducing crossing time to approximately one hour.

Aker Finnyards and the Greek G A Ferries have signed a letter of intent for the building of a new car-passenger ferry for short international routes and Greek domestic traffic. The letter also includes an option for another vessel. The new vessel, which will be delivered in spring 2001 will boast a length of 492 ft. (150 m) and a beam of 82 ft. (25 m). Propulsion by four diesel engines totaling 50,000 kW will provide a speed of 29 knots. G A Ferries, operator of 10 vessels, intends to go public in Athens this year.

first plate for Aker Yards newbuilding No. 1358. and catamarans. The emphasis will be on customer comfort, eg. innovative restaurants and a high class conference centre. regardless of weather conditions. The 607 x 91 ft. vessel will be taking 2,500 passengers, and driven by 40 MW engines giving the vessel a speed of 25 knots.