Passenger Vessel News Roundup | April 25 – Fast catamarans for Tanzania and Singapore plus Ro-Paxes for Japan and Denmark

Deliveries include a large Ro-Pax ferry for a Japanese owner and fast catamaran ferries for operators in Singapore and Tanzania. Construction is meanwhile underway on a double-ended Ro-Pax for a Danish customer and a hybrid commuter boat for a River Thames transport provider.

Singapore ferry operator welcomes newbuild catamarans to fleet

Singapore-based transport company Majestic Fast Ferry has taken delivery of three new catamaran ferries in a series built by Indonesia’s Cahaya Samudra Shipyard.

Majestic Peace, Majestic Spirit, and Majestic Flair each have a length of 39 metres, seating for up to 312 passengers, and a maximum speed of 32 knots. Facilities on each vessel include five toilets, cargo holds, luggage compartments, and a refreshment kiosk.

The onboard spaces also include areas accessible for wheelchair-bound passengers.

MOL takes delivery of second LNG-fuelled ferry in series

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) recently took delivery of the LNG-fuelled Ro-Pax ferry in a series built by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding.

Sunflower Murasaki is being operated by MOL group company Ferry Sunflower. It will operate alongside earlier sister Sunflower Kurenai in serving the Osaka-Beppu route between Osaka and Oita Prefectures.

The newbuild measures 199 by 28 metres and can transport 716 passengers and 137 lorries measuring 13 metres each. The dual-fuel, four-stroke main engine can run on either LNG or heavy fuel oil and can propel the ferry to a service speed of 22.5 knots.

Tanzanian operator acquires Australian-built fast ferry

Richardson Devine Marine (RDM) of Hobart, Australia has delivered a new catamaran ferry to Azam Marine of Tanzania.

The 53-metre-long Kilimanjaro VIII features a parallel boarding system, whereby five ramps on either side of the vessel will be able to load passengers and cargo in segregated flows. VIP and business class passengers will board into a discreet stair tower directly to the upper deck cabin, whilst economy passengers will load separately aft and amidships.

A fifth ramp will be dedicated to luggage trolley movements.

The catamaran will seat 340 passengers in its main deck economy cabin whilst the mid-deck cabin will accommodate 36 VIP passengers and 12 business class passengers in full lie-flat seats. The remainder of the mid-deck will accommodate 266 economy passengers.

The ferry, which also has IMO HSC code-compliant stability, is powered by two Cummins QSK95-M main engines.

Thames Clippers’ newest hybrid catamaran floated out

A UK shipyard has launched a new catamaran ferry to be operated by local company Uber Boat by Thames Clippers.

The company said the vessel belongs to a series that will be the UK’s first hybrid high-speed passenger ferries once they enter service.

A hybrid setup will allow the vessels to operate solely on battery power while transporting commuters and sightseers and recharge while using biofuelled power outside of central London. Instead of relying on shore-based charging, the boats will use excess power from the biofuelled engines to recharge their batteries.

The new ferry will be operated along the Thames throughout the capital’s central zone between the Tower Bridge and Battersea Power Station piers.

First steel cut for double-ended ferry for Denmark’s Molslinjen

A Turkish shipyard has cut the first steel to be used for the construction of a new double-ended Ro-Pax ferry ordered by Danish operator Molslinjen.

Once completed, the ferry will measure 116.8 metres long and will have a propulsion system consisting of batteries with four 493ekW backup generators fuelled by hydrotreated vegetable oil.

Design work on the ferry was done by Danish naval architecture company OSK-ShipTech in compliance to Bureau Veritas regulations. It will be operated on Molslinjen’s Bøjden-Fynshav and Ballen-Kalundborg routes.