Vietnam yard secures ferry order from French Polynesian customer

French Polynesian transport company the Degage Group has awarded shipbuilder Austal Vietnam a contract for the design and construction of a new Ro-Pax ferry.

Named Dory 2, the vessel will have a steel hull, an aluminium superstructure, a length of 71 metres, accommodations for 140 passengers and 17 crewmembers, and a main cargo deck with a total area of 494 square metres. The cargo deck will be able to house a combination of 10- and 20-foot containers, palletised freight, and vehicles.

The propulsion system will enable the ferry to sail up to 1,000 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 12 knots.

The ferry will be the seventh Austal-designed and -built vessel to join the Degage Group fleet, which operates on French Polynesia’s interisland routes to and from the country’s capital of Papeete in Tahiti.