Veteran ferry gets new job
Written by Nick Blenkey
Rungholt will be modernized and partly rebuilt for new role
A 27-year old German coastal ferry is to take on a new life as a day cruise vessel. Germany’s Wyker Dampfschiffs-Reederei Föhr-Amrum GmbH (WDR) reports that it has sold its M/V Rungholt to Greek buyers in Kissamos (Crete) who will deploy her on day cruises from Cretan ports to nearby islands.
Delivered by the Husumer shipyard back in May 1992, Rungholt was in operation for WDR until her replacement by the newbuilt double-end ferry M/V Norderaue in May 2018
Sales documents were signed in Hamburg on October 17 and the ship – which is currently laid up at Husum – was transferred to her new owners with immediate effect. The 67.40 m long vessel is to be registered under the Greek flag and will shortly be transferred to the Mediterranean under a new name. In the Piraeus region, the vessel will be prepared for her future role as a day cruise vessel. This will include a thorough modernization and a partial rebuilding. The ship has been sold to a family-controlled consortium that has been active in day cruising since 1995, operating day cruises from several Cretan ports to nearby islands under the brand of Cretan Daily Cruises.
Prior to her sale for a new career in Greece, the Rungholt was deployed in WDR’s Wadden Sea service. Carrying 53 cars along with 1,190 passengers in summer or 655 in winter, the ship was tailored to sail in extremely shallow, tidal waters – her draft amounts to just 1.95 m.
