VESSEL REVIEW | Autrement – Ferry/tour boat to serve France's Perros-Guirec commune
French operator Armor Navigation has taken delivery of a new ferry built by Nova Shipyard of Turkey.
Autrement was built to a design by French naval architecture firm Mer et Design. In addition to being used on a regular ferry route, she will also sail on sightseeing excursions off the commune of Perros-Guirec in Brittany.
The newbuild has all-aluminium construction, an LOA of 24.98 metres (81.96 feet), a beam of 6.8 metres (22 feet), a draught of only 1.2 metres (3.9 feet), and space for 200 passengers. The vessel also boasts an upper deck hard top cover and panoramic glass panels for improved visibility as well as protection from the elements.
Yacht-inspired design coupled with greater passenger capacity
“The owner requested a more refined, aesthetic profile beyond the classic passenger boat look, so the exterior styling was developed with yacht-experienced contributors,” Genco Yener, Founder and CEO of Nova Shipyard told Baird Maritime. This attribute was considered essential, for it combined premium aesthetics with commercial robustness.
“The vessel is also hybrid-ready, engineered to enable a future conversion to hybrid propulsion via installation of electric motors and batteries when the owner decides to proceed.”
Desired performance parameters were also set, with Armor Navigation requesting top speeds of 19 knots in lightship condition and 17 knots when fully loaded.
Yener said Autrement was built to provide a premium-looking passenger vessel aligned with the owner’s brand positioning (beyond traditional passenger boat aesthetics). She was also developed as a comfort-focused platform boasting noise- and vibration-reducing solutions.
The vessel’s propulsion arrangement consists of a Data Hidrolik steering system, a Sleipner Side Power bow thruster, and two 750hp (560kW) main engines driving CJR propellers via ZF gearboxes. Yener said class S propellers were selected for their low noise and vibration levels.
The electronics suite consists mainly of navigation and communications equipment from Furuno. There are also CCTV cameras installed throughout the vessel as well as a music/entertainment system.
“A coherent navcom preference (Furuno) combined with CCTV and entertainment systems supports both operational oversight and passenger experience,” said Yener.
The deck equipment meanwhile includes a Data Hidrolik windlass.
The passenger areas feature seats from Compin Fainsa and aluminium decking while teak was used on the guardrails. The exterior surfaces are coated in paint supplied by Jotun.
“Deck outfitting and exterior execution were selected to balance commercial durability with a premium passenger experience, especially the hard top/glass viewing concept and yacht-grade paint finish,” Yener told Baird Maritime.
Overcoming aluminium constraints to deliver desired performance
In Yener’s view, there were four main challenges in the design work that went into Autrement.
“[We had to address] combining commercial passenger functionality with a yacht-like exterior; designing a robust hybrid-ready architecture without compromising current propulsion performance; meeting comfort expectations (i.e., noise and vibration sensitivity) through propulsion and propeller specification; and delivering the required speed and performance within the weight and resistance constraints of an all-aluminium platform.”
As regards construction, Yener said that issues that needed to be overcome included achieving a yacht-standard fairing and paint quality on an aluminium passenger vessel within the stipulated schedule; coordinating multi-vendor interfaces while maintaining finish quality and commissioning efficiency; maintaining the workmanship discipline required for premium exterior detailing (surface prep, fairing continuity, detailing at rails/teak interfaces, etc); and delivering comfort-oriented build outcomes (i.e., noise and vibration focus) through installation quality and alignment practices.
“[We learned that] yacht-grade exterior outcomes require early ‘design freeze’ of exterior details to protect the schedule and quality,” Yener remarked. “Also, a hybrid-ready configuration works best when treated as a full system discipline – with space claim, foundations, routing, and ventilation/service access – not a late-stage add-on.
“Lastly, comfort results depend on a system approach [taking into account] propulsion, propeller specification, installation quality, and equipment mounting practices.”
Autrement was built in compliance with Bureau Veritas class requirements.
