BMT wins New Orleans RTA ferry design contract

Ferries will be built by Metal Shark

JUNE 6, 2017 — BMT Nigel Gee (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group, and sister company BMT Designers & Planners have won a contract for the design of the two 32 m high speed/low wake wash, 149-passenger aluminum catamaran ferries that Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark is to build for the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) (see earlier story).

BMT Nigel Gee, based in Southampton, U.K, will be responsible for concept through to production design with Alexandra, VA, headquartered BMT Designer & Planners providing local U.S. presence and design engineering support.

BMT says it was selected due to its experience and proven designs in the fast low wash ferry sector.

“The proven eco-friendly design will greatly improve passenger comfort and have extremely low wash to provide minimal environmental impact. The ferries will be run at a service speed of 22.5 knots,” says John Bonafoux, BMT Nigel Gee’s Managing Director. “BMT has recently signed a contract for similar vessels to connect Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia. It’s fantastic to see this design being built, which could work well on many other city routes in the United States.”

BMT Designers & Planners’ President, Kai Skvarla, says: “We are extremely pleased to win this design contract with BMT Nigel Gee and Metal Shark drawing upon years of expertise and established collaboration.”

Deliveries for both vessels are scheduled for 2018.