ferry

MAN engines to power Mols-Linien superferry

In total, four 20V28/33D STC engines, each delivering 9,100 kW, will drive the four waterjets that will power the 109-m, wave-piercer.

“This is an important order for us and a welcome addition to our existing references in the high-speed ferry segment,” said Lex Nijsen – Head of Four-Stroke Marine – MAN Diesel & Turbo. “It is a technically-enhanced, repeat order with our newest, state-of-the-art engine; a success that builds on our ability to deliver engines with unrivlled fuel consumption in their class within a tight, customer-defined schedule. Importantly, it also builds on our existing good relationships with both Incat and Mols-Linien.”

Engine delivery is due over two shipments in September and October, 2016.

KatExpress 3, which is scheduled for completion by March 2017, will have 1,000 tonnes deadweight, with seating capacity for 1,000 persons and up to 411 car spaces, or a combination of cars, trucks and other vehicles.

The newbuilding’s near-sisterships KatExpress 1 and KatExpress 2 are both currently in service for Mols-Linien and were also built by Incat.

The MAN 28/33D STC is a compact, powerful engine with a high power-to-weight ratio. It is fully compliant with current environmental standards and employs an advanced SaCoSone engine-control system. The engine has been installed in several ferry applications and is also regularly employed by naval segments.

Characteristics of the engine include:

  • most powerful engine in its class and proven in service
  • high power-to-weight ratio
  • best-in-class SFOC
  • low maintenance costs due to long service intervals and on-board maintenance
  • robust design for high availability
  • capable of continuous, low-load operation
  • high torque for fast acceleration
  • unrestricted operation
  • IMO Tier II and EPA Tier 2-compliant.

Glosten, Vigor use Cadmatic for Alaska Class Ferry design

The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) has awarded the Alaska Class Ferry project to Vigor Alaska shipyard in Ketchikan, AK, where construction is currently underway.

The two day boat ferries will be 280-feet long, seat up to 300 passengers and carry 53 standard vehicles. Each ferry will feature bow and stern doors for quicker loading and unloading, fully enclosed car decks and controllable pitch propellers to maximize maneuverability and efficiency.

Seattle, WA, based naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy Glosten is providing production design for the ferry.

Vigor Alaska and Glosten are two of Cadmatic’s newest U.S. customers and Cadmatic says the production design of the Alaska Class Ferry is the premiere application of Cadmatic software in the northern U.S.

Glosten will deliver its design in the imperial unit versions of both Cadmatic Hull and Outfitting.

“Our team is excited to work not only with Vigor Alaska and Cadmatic – but also with exceptional, leading edge modeling tools,” says Ken Lane, Director of Production Services at Glosten. “It’s a terrific opportunity for all of our designers.”

Alan Coffin, Senior Project Manager at Vigor, says Cadmatic “has offered a unique opportunity to evaluate a world-class software platform. By opening the doors to new technologies, we anticipate improved efficiencies and advancement of our shipbuilding capabilities.”

The first U.S. customer to use the full design and production package of Cadmatic software was Edison Chouest Offshore’s North American Shipbuilding in 2013. Since then, other North American companies to joined the Cadmatic include Glosten, Vigor Fab, Genoa Design International, and VT Halter Marine.

What’s the best way to state the size of a ROPAX?

NOVEMBER 13, 2015 — What’s the best way of stating the size and capacity of ROPAX (roll-on/roll-off passenger) vessels? Deadweight? Passenger capacity? Vehicle lane meters? The question has been made more relevant

Neptun Werft to build double ender for repeat customer

Neptun Werft delivered the operator’s current flagship, Schleswig- Holstein, in 2011.The newly contracted vessel is due for delivery in February 2018. The contract price has not been disclosed.

“Neptun has provided us with an attractive offer and thus succeeded to compete against a number of other reputable German and European yards,” said WDR Managing Director Axel Meynköhn.

The newbuilding will replace the 1992-built conventional ferry Rungholt, which will be offered for sale.

S 578, as the project is currently designated, will be a near sister to the 2011-built Schleswig-Holstein and the series prototype, Uthlande, which was delivered by Sietas Werft in 2010.

Based on extensive research and external scientific consultation, WDR has again opted for a diesel-mechanic propulsion driving four Voith-Schneider propellers.

With identical main dimensions to Schleswig-Holstein (75.88 m long x 16.40 m wide), S 578 will also have the same maximum passenger capacity of 1,200 in day traffic. The car deck has, however, been modified to increase capacity for trucks. It will be the first WDR ferry to accommodate trucks on up to four lanes. With approximately 350 lane meters for private cars and 280 lane meters for cargo, S 578 will have significantly more capacity than the ship it is replacing, the Rungholt.

The inauguration of the new ship will see WDR operate three double-ended ferries on the Föhr-Amrum-Line from spring 2018. The 1995- built conventional ferry Nordfriesland will be retained as a fourth ship to cover seasonal traffic in summer and replacement operations in the off-season.

Neptun Werft Managing Director Manfred Müller-Fahrenholz, says the committed after-sales service provided to the “Schleswig-Holstein” has – along with a competitive offer – helped to win the new contract to Rostock.”With the delivery of S 578,” he says, “WDR will have an extremely young and eco-friendly fleet. In contrast, other European domestic operators are yet facing the replacement of their current short-distance ferries. We aim to contribute to this process and hope to support also other operators in bringing their fleet up to latest technical and environmental standards.

WDR’s newest ferry has, like the Schleswig-Holstein, been designed according to the strict requirements of the German eco-standards RAL-UZ 141 and RAL-UZ 110, which formulate the standards for the German Blauer Engel (Blue Angel) ecolabel in the categories of Environmentally Friendly Ship Design as well as Environmentally Friendly Ship Operation.

 

Damen hands over RoPax ferry to Canadian customer

 

Launched at the end of March by Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania the vessel will start services from Fogo Island and Change Islands before the end of November.

MV Veteran was delivered by the shipbuilder on time and within budget.MV Veteran is the first of a two-vessel contract. Its design results from a partnership between Fleetway of Canada and Denmark’s Knud E. Hansen.

Several Canadian companies have provided services, rangingrom electrical equipment to fire-fighting systems, for the MV Veteran and its sister ship, the MV Legionnaire, which is scheduled for delivery from Galati in the spring of 2016 and will operate on the busy short-haul route from Portugal Cove to Bell Island.

The Veteran will replace the MV Earl Windsor built in 1975. The Legionnaire will replace the MV Beaumont Hamel built in 1985.

Both vessels are part of a large “lifeline” vessel replacement program being undertaken by the Provincial Government to modernize its fleet, which annually transports over 900,000 passengers, 400,000 vehicles and 20,000 tonnes of freight with more than 50,000 arrivals and departures.

As the region in which they operate is located near the Arctic, the vessels have to maneuver in drifting ice.

According to Damen Manager North America Jan van Hogerwou, the two new ferries can handle the impact of 40 cm-thick floating ice at 4 knots.

“Their rudders, hull and propellers have been strengthened and are outfitted with extra plate thickness for heavy winter conditions,” he says.

Damen Ferries Product Director Henk Grunstra says: “The highest certificate available for ferries is the Ice Class 1A Super certificate. These diesel-electric propelled vessels also have redundant systems. The bridge is ergonomically designed and has optimal working space for efficient and safe operation. The modern, low maintenance interior was designed by an internationally recognized designer. The shift crew lives on board the ship in 15 single crew cabins.”

A Canadian service and support hub for these vessels is being established. A certified Damen maintenance center will be located in the capital of the Newfoundland and Labrador region, St. John’s. An agreement with a local Newfoundland-based company is in place and its employees are currently being trained at Damen Shipyards Galati.

Judge suspends operator’s merchant mariner credential

On Feb. 17, 2015, Ms. Stahl wrongfully assumed direction and control of the towing vessel Shannon in Elliot Bay with an invalid credential in violation of U.S. laws and regulations.

 Ms. Stahl’s credential was suspended at the time as a result of a previous violation during which she endangered the crew and passengers aboard multiple Washington State ferries by purposely hindering their safe transit in Elliot Bay near Seattle on Oct. 7, 2014.

Ms. Stahl had also previously been issued a Letter of Warning by the Coast Guard in March 2013 and had her credential suspended for three months in September 2013, both for other violations of U.S. laws and regulations.  

“The Coast Guard’s enforcement actions regarding mariner credentials are remedial and not penal in nature and are designed to maintain standards of competence and conduct necessary to minimize loss of life, personal injury, property damage, and environment harm on U.S. waters,” said Chief Warrant Officer Brian Hennessy, senior investigator at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound. “When repeat offenses warrant more significant action, the Coast Guard will not hesitate to seek lengthy suspension or revocation of a mariner’s credentials.”

 

  • News

Alaska may try to sell 52 year old state ferry

The Juneau Empire reports that General Manager of the Ferry System Captain John Falvey and Michael Neussi, deputy commissioner of the Alaska Department of Transportation, have discussed what’s next for the Taku and “everything from selling it to trying to run it again” is on the table.

During a presentation last month, Mr. Neussl said he believed the ferry system would sustain itself by reducing the size of the fleet.

“I think the numbers are speaking that we can’t afford to operate an 11-ship fleet with the frequency of service that we’ve kind of become accustomed to,” he said on Sept. 15.

The Juneau Empire says the Taku would be on the block before others because it’s the smallest of the system’s main line ferries.

As the state’s budget forces the system to cut service and take ferries out of service, the ferries that are operating will run closer to capacity.

Built in 1963 by the Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Company in Seattle,WA, the 352 ft Taku can carry 370 passengers and 69 vehicles.

It is one of three AMHS ferries that is SOLAS certified.

It is currently in lay up, serving as a “hotel ship” for other AMHS ships being overhauled at the Kechikan shipyard.

Read the Juneau Empire report HERE

  • News

Alaska may try to sell 52 year old state ferry

 

The Juneau Empire reports that General Manager of the Ferry System Captain John Falvey and Michael Neussi, deputy commissioner of the Alaska Department of Transportation, have discussed what’s next for the Taku and “everything from selling it to trying to run it again” is on the table.

During a presentation last month, Mr. Neussl said he believed the ferry system would sustain itself by reducing the size of the fleet.

“I think the numbers are speaking that we can’t afford to operate an 11-ship fleet with the frequency of service that we’ve kind of become accustomed to,” he said on Sept. 15.

The Juneau Empire says the Taku would be on the block before others because it’s the smallest of the system’s main line ferries.

As the state’s budget forces the system to cut service and take ferries out of service, the ferries that are operating will run closer to capacity.

Built in 1963 by the Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Company in Seattle,WA, the 352 ft Taku can carry 370 passengers and 69 vehicles.

It is one of three AMHS ferries that is SOLAS certified.

It is currently in lay up, serving as a “hotel ship” for other AMHS ships being overhauled at the Kechikan shipyard.

Read the Juneau Empire report HERE

  • News

Alaska may try to sell 52 year old state ferry

 

The Juneau Empire reports that General Manager of the Ferry System Captain John Falvey and Michael Neussi, deputy commissioner of the Alaska Department of Transportation, have discussed what’s next for the Taku and “everything from selling it to trying to run it again” is on the table.

During a presentation last month, Mr. Neussl said he believed the ferry system would sustain itself by reducing the size of the fleet.

“I think the numbers are speaking that we can’t afford to operate an 11-ship fleet with the frequency of service that we’ve kind of become accustomed to,” he said on Sept. 15.

The Juneau Empire says the Taku would be on the block before others because it’s the smallest of the system’s main line ferries.

As the state’s budget forces the system to cut service and take ferries out of service, the ferries that are operating will run closer to capacity.

Built in 1963 by the Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Company in Seattle,WA, the 352 ft Taku can carry 370 passengers and 69 vehicles.

It is one of three AMHS ferries that is SOLAS certified.

It is currently in lay up, serving as a “hotel ship” for other AMHS ships being overhauled at the Kechikan shipyard.

Read the Juneau Empire report HERE

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