It will be constructed with space for 540 cars and 940 standard containers
German ro-ro builder Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) has won an order from Canada for a 19,500dwt ferry newbuilding which it describes as “the world’s most eco-friendly con-ro ship”
Tom Todd writes: FSG said it beat international competition to land the order from an unidentified Canadian shipowner. It is the second time the yard has built for Canada: in 2008 it completed the last of three 160m passenger/ro-ros for BC Ferries which were the world’s largest double-enders.
FSG managing director Peter Sierk said the new job had come “at just the right moment” and that it had taken two years to develop the tailor-made concept. Referring to the financial and economic crisis he added “thanks to a well-filled order book, FSG has ridden out the storm” and stressed the latest order was “extraordinarily important for us”.
Construction of the “modern, innovative, environmentally-friendly and flexible” ship starts next October and is scheduled to last until the end of 2013. The newbuild will be about 210m long and the yard said the 19,500dwt capacity was “unusually high” for a con-ro vessel. She will also be very flexible with ramps and clear deck heights for containers of different sizes as well as trucks, trailers and cars.
There will be 1700 lane metres and space for 540 cars and 940 standard containers. Equipment will include stern and side ramps and, in the lower hold, fixed car decks with suspended decks below them as well as an internal ramp system to serve individual trailer and car decks.
No engine details were given but FSG said all systems would be designed for world operation, meaning the highest ice class for tough conditions and temperatures down to -30ºC. All components will be of high-quality and well above market standard for ro-ro ships, FSG added .
The ship is billed as extremely eco-friendly, consuming about 30% less fuel than comparable ships and saving 20,000 tons in CO2 emissions a year. She will have an innovative flue-gas scrubber which will eliminate 99% of emitted sulphur oxides, or 1,100 tons/year, and thus well undercut restrictions in SECA regions from 2015, FSG said.
Sierk said FSG was working on 30 other projects for potential customers. Already on the order book are three of four ro-ro freight ferries for the UK’s Seatruck Ferries and three ro-ro freight ferries for Ulusoy Sealines in Turkey.
Source: The Motorship
