Abidjan Orders 16 Passenger Ferries
Photo: Damen
Jan van der Vorm, Sales Manager Africa, Damen Shipyards Gorinchem; Adama Bictogo, Président Directeur Général Société de Transport Lagunaire; and David Fofana, Directeur Adjoint Société de Transport Lagunaire (Photo: Damen)
As part of a presidential plan to reduce urban congestion and greenhouse gas emissions in the Ivory Coast city of Abidjan, 16 new passenger ferries have been ordered by Société de Transport Lagunaire (STL).
Known as the economic capital of the Ivory Coast, Abidjan is located around the 100-km long Ébrié Lagoon on the west coast of Africa and therefore water-based transport holds a vital position in everyday life in the area. Furthermore, due to rapid population growth and the deterioration of existing ferry services, traffic congestion is a major problem in the city.
Therefore, as part of the Ivory Coast’s government’s increased focus on infrastructure improvement, Damen Shipyards Group has been contracted to build 16 shallow-draft passenger ferries to help provide cost effective and reliable public transport options for the growing urban population.
“Abidjan’s population has increased five-fold in the last 20 years,” explained Damen Sales Manager Africa, Jan van der Vorm. “And much of the existing ferry infrastructure is in urgent need of renewal. In order for the city’s growth to continue in a sustainable way, the transport sector has become a top priority.”
Damen has designed the 18-meter vessels according to the standards of the International Association of Classification Societies. Each powered by two Volvo D5 engines, the ferries will be able to transport up to 130 passengers at speeds of 10 knots. One key design parameter concerned the vessels’ draught specifications: the vessels achieve these by having an air draught of 4 meters and a 1-meter water draught.
Construction of all the ferries will take place at Damen Shipyards Koźle in Poland. The yard will adhere to a tightly-planned production schedule to meet STL’s delivery requirements. The first four ferries will be delivered in January 2017 – the rest will be delivered four at a time, every eight weeks, in three batches thereafter.
“Not only does this contract represent a new client for us, but it also involves a new vessel that we have designed specifically for this project,” Van der Vorm said. “We are very pleased to contribute to the development of this growing city – this is just the first phase of a much larger project, the scope of which extends to a total of 45 vessels by 2020. It is a project that we are extremely proud to be involved in.”
