Reykjavik-based shipping company Eimskip has submitted an offer to build and operate the new Westman Islands car and passenger ferry.
According to the public state tender, the new ferry should be delivered in mid-2018 and the company would then operate it until 2030.
The total amount of Eimskip offer, which includes the construction of the ferry and its operation for 12 years, is in the range from ISK 8.1 billion (USD 70.7 million) to ISK 9.4 billion (USD 82 million).
The offer was submitted under Part B of the tender. The company said that it did not participate in Part A of the tender, which covers only building a new ferry to sell to the state.
Should an offer from Part A be chosen, and the state negotiates directly with a shipyard, the state is expected to publicly tender the operation of the ferry later.
The state is now granted 18 weeks to evaluate all offers.
“Eimskip has operated the ferry Herjólfur since 2006. The company’s experience of this operation is very good, and we believe that we are well suited for building a new ferry, in cooperation with foreign shipyards, and then operating her in the coming years,” Gylfi Sigfússon, President and CEO of Eimskip, said.
Sigfússon added that the new vessel is intended to improve transportation to and from Westman Islands.