Passenger Vessel News Roundup | July 28 – US whale-watching boat and UK river cruise ship newbuilds, Italian ferry’s final sea trials and more

A new tour boat has been delivered to an operator in Washington State and a UK river cruise company christens the latest addition to its fleet. Sea trials have been completed for a new Ro-Pax ferry for Italy and a Spanish company will soon resume sailings of a rebuilt vessel. Lastly, construction starts on an LNG-fuelled cruise ship designed for Caribbean sailings.

Washington’s Puget Sound Express adds catamaran to whale-watching fleet

Puget Sound Express (PSE), a family-owned tour operator in Washington State, has taken delivery of a new whale-watching catamaran vessel built by a local shipyard.

Named Swiftsure, the boat measures 77 feet (23.4 metres) long and can transport up to 150 passengers. Design work was provided by New Zealand-based naval architecture firm Teknicraft Design.

The catamaran has two asymmetrical semi-planing hulls and an adjustable aluminium midship hydrofoil plus two aluminium aft foils, which allow the boat to achieve top speeds of over 40 knots. This design, coupled with finely-tuned, wave-piercing bows, enables the boat to travel through calm and rough water at full cruising speed while keeping underwater noise to a minimum.

UK’s Emerald Cruises christens newest river ship

UK-based Emerald Cruises, a company under Australia’s the Scenic Group, recently christened its newest river cruise ship.

The Swiss-flagged Emerald Luna was built in the Netherlands by Scheepswerf Den Breejen Shipyard. The ship measures 135 by 11 metres and has capacity for 180 guests in 92 cabins.

Emerald Luna‘s itineraries will cover the Rhine, Main, and Danube Rivers.

Moby 2,500-pax ferry wraps up sea trials in China

Chinese shipbuilder Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) has completed conducting sea trials of a new Ro-Pax ferry ordered by Italian owner the Moby Group.

Once in service in Italy, Moby Fantasy will be able to transport 2,500 passengers and 3,800 lane metres of freight across 13 decks.

Delivery is scheduled to take place in the coming months.

Refit completed on Trasmed ferry

Spanish operator Trasmed has welcomed one of its existing Ro-Pax ferries back into service following an extensive modification program.

The modifications on the 2011-built Ciudad de Barcelona included installation of exhaust aftertreatment scrubbers and restyling of interior spaces.

The ferry will resume sailings on Trasmed’s Barcelona-Alcudia-Mahón route from Monday to Thursday and the Barcelona-Palma route from Friday to Sunday.

German yard lays keel of future Carnival LNG-fuelled cruise ship

German shipyard Meyer Werft has laid the keel of a new cruise ship slated for Carnival Cruise Line.

The future Carnival Jubilee is scheduled for completion and delivery by the end of 2023. Afterwards, the ship will operate out of Galveston, Texas, and sail on itineraries in the Caribbean.

Carnival Jubilee is the third ship in a series that the Meyer Group is building for Carnival Cruise Line. Meyer Turku in Finland already delivered Mardi Gras in 2020, followed by Carnival Celebration in 2022.

Like its sisters, Carnival Jubilee will have an LNG propulsion system and amenities including a roller coaster.