On 8 April 2011, STX Finland Oy and Finferries signed a contract for the construction of a Double Ended Ferry to operate in Finland, Turku Archipelago. The ship will be built on STX Rauma shipyard and it will be delivered at the end of 2012. The ship will be 65 metres in length and 12.8 metres in breadth. The construction of the environmentally friendly ferry will bring some 100 man-years of work to STX Rauma shipyard personnel and the personnel of its supplier network. The value of the contract will not be published.
The new passenger ferry will operate in Finland, Turku Archipelago, on the Korpo – Houtskär route, of which the length and challenging ice conditions will set special requirements to the performance of the vessel. In addition, the vessel will be constructed in accordance with the safety regulations defined in the EU shipbuilding directive and it will be the first vessel to reach the new generation safety level.
Particular attention has been given to the double ended ferry’s efficiency by minimising the docking time of the vessel by using wide bow and stern ramps and by designing the ferry as a two ended vessel, meaning that it can run both directions. A diesel-electric power plant propulsion engine, which utilises Z drive rudder propellers at both ends of the ship, was selected as the propulsion for the vessel.
The new double ended ferry will start to operate at the beginning of 2013 and it will accommodate 250 passengers, three trucks with tandem trailers and 39 cars. The modern passenger compartments on the vessel enable the offering of new services to the passengers and they are also designed to serve passengers with reduced mobility.
“This order reinforces the leading position of STX Finland in the development and building of customer-oriented and technologically advanced types of ships.” explains Timo Suistio , Shipyard Director at the STX Rauma shipyard. “We are proud and grateful for having the opportunity to offer our customer Finferries a competitive full solution that incorporates all our strengths” , Suistio continues.
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Source: STXEurope, April 8, 2011.