VESSEL REVIEW | Warbaby Fox & JL Cecil Smith – Bermuda Government places new catamaran ferries into service

The Government of Bermuda has taken delivery of two new fast catamaran ferries in a series built by Strategic Marine of Singapore.

Warbaby Fox and JL Cecil Smith were both built to a design developed by One2Three Naval Architects of Australia. Each has all-aluminium construction, a length of 40 metres (130 feet), seating for up to 550 passengers, and designated spaces for wheelchairs.

The vessels also boast modern interiors and panoramic windows to provide passengers with unobstructed views of the coast while underway.

“The ferries have been custom designed and built for an experienced operator being the Department of Marine and Ports Services of Bermuda (DMPS) with the key goals of providing travellers with a comfortable, efficient and reliable service while also having low fuel consumption per passenger mile and minimizing maintenance,” Hans Randklev, General Manager Commercial at Strategic Marine, told Baird Maritime.

One design providing commuter and tourist shuttle services

“The contract was subject to a worldwide tender with many yards participating from Asia, Europe and the US. The detailed tender requirements were based on experiences gained from the owner having operated ferry services in Bermuda over several decades and also being the maritime authority in Bermuda.”

The vessels will provide passenger services for commuters and cruise tourists in and around Bermuda’s Great Sound including Hamilton, St George’s, Dockyard and Rockaway.

“The ferries have very efficient hulls without bow thrusters and propeller skegs,” said Randklev. “The Z-bow hulls benefit from One2three’s many years of hull design optimisation, resulting in industry leading efficiency and excellent seakeeping. Careful chine placement minimises water spray, ensuring a dry ride.”

The propulsion setup on each vessel includes two Caterpillar 3512C engines that each produce 1,765 kW (2,370 hp) at 1,800 rpm, two ZF 8000 gearboxes, and two Veem fixed-pitch propellers.

“By choosing two larger engines instead of four smaller engines, we managed to reduce the demi hull beams and thereby reduce hull resistance.”

Optimised for lower-emission sailings

Strategic Marine said the new ferries will reduce CO₂ emissions by about 25 per cent when compared to existing ferries on a passenger-mile basis in addition to offering significant savings on operational costs. This was achieved by optimising the vessels’ design and construction for the Government of Bermuda’s current and future operational requirements.

The sun deck is a premium space for tourists escaping the confines of a cruise ship and enjoying the tropical weather and scenery of the Bermuda coastline. Loading and unloading are done over the bow with a wide staircase leading to the upper deck, ensuring that the many passengers can easily move on and off the vessels. The bow boarding also makes for quicker and easier docking thereby saving time and cost.

Provision is also made on the foredeck for the storage of bicycles and motorcycles.

“Large area, full-height windows throughout the passenger spaces provide excellent visibility, ensuring all on board can fully appreciate the Bermudan scenery,” Randklev told Baird Maritime. “Comfortable seating is provided for all passengers with dining tables provided via the onboard kiosk. Corridor and aisle widths are maximised throughout to ensure rapid and easy passenger flow.”

The superstructure is a rafted design, joined to the hull through the installation of Mackay rubber mounts. These mounts serve to isolate the hull from the noise and vibration produced in the engine room, resulting in a significantly more comfortable and pleasant ride for the passengers and crew.

A high-level interior fitout was considered necessary for the new ferries, and so Strategic Marine engaged the services of Spear Green Design for the interior design while ICF was contracted to build the interiors.

Overcoming design challenges

“A key challenge in the project was facilitating the two primary roles required for the vessel,” said Randklev. “On the one hand, the vessel performs as a commuter transit role on the longer Bermuda runs, transporting locals and their bicycles/motorcylces to and from work. On the other hand, the vessel is also required to support demand for tourism operations.”

Bermuda receives around 500,000 visitors each year by cruise ship, and the two ferries operate from the main cruise ship terminal. On a peak day, up to 10,000 guests can descend from the cruise ship terminal, and the ferry infrastructure to support transfers to some of Bermuda’s tourism attractions is deemed essential in keeping road traffic to within manageable limits.

“Carrying 550 passengers comfortably posed a substantial challenge for 40-metre-long ferries,” Randklev remarked. “This was achieved through a mix of internal and external seating, spread across three decks.”

Randklev explained that the major challenge from a design perspective was in accommodating 550 passengers on what is a relatively small platform for this number of people while still maintaining vessel performance, operability, safety and aesthetics. All objectives were met and the ferries were delivered on time, which Randklev attributed to, “the hard work, knowledge and experience of both designer and builder.”

As part of the contract Strategic Marine also undertook to do the delivery from Singapore to Bermuda as well as onboard training of the crew after delivery in Bermuda.

“It is interesting to understand the impact to the total cost of ownership that even small design changes and equipment choices make for assets such as this over a 25- to 30-year life,” Randklev told Baird Maritime.

“Fuel consumption is a major cost and managing this with efficient design, build and equipment choices gives the operator a good start to running a lean operation. In this case, we measured our fuel consumption against the operator’s previous vessels and found 25 per cent fuel savings, which was achieved primarily by chasing several marginal gains.”

Warbaby Fox and JL Cecil Smith will replace two similarly named vessels being operated by the DMPS. The newbuilds will also provide additional capacity to cater for higher passenger numbers predicted for the years ahead, primarily due to increasing frequency and size of cruise ships visiting Bermuda.