Damen Shipyards design and build a new E-Cat Ferry for Reederei Norden-Frisia

By | 2023 Newsletter week 15 | No Comments

Reederei Norden-Frisia operates services from the mainland of north-west Germany to the Frisian Islands. The company asked Damen to design and build a new ferry.

 Green ambitions: already, the operator offers electric car and bicycle hire to its clients. Furthermore, Norden-Frisia is installing solar panels and wind turbines to its car parking facilities.

  • Was looking for: a fast(er) ferry for those people who are not dependent on transporting a vehicle.
  • Going to the next level: the construction of a fully electric vessel that would be able to transport 150 passengers from Norddeich to the island of Norderney, quickly, cleanly and in optimal comfort.
  • Reederei Norden-Frisia reached out to Damen for vessel + charging infrastructure and mooring solutions.
  • A tailored approach: the route that the ferry will operate required Damen to develop a completely new vessel – the Damen Fast Ferry (FFE) 3209 – known as the E-Cat Ferry.
  • Challenges: maximum draft max 1.2m – maximum speed 16 knots (UNESCO area) – 1h crossing (instead of 2) and 30 Minutes charging.
  • Hull to be constructed at Damen’s yard in Kozle, Poland.
  • Outfitting in Damen Shipyards Gorinchem.

Delivery to Norden-Frisia in May 2024.

SHORT NEWS

By | 2020 Newsletter week 35 | No Comments

Damen Shiprepair Harlingen Completes Repair Project on Rederij Doeksen VLIELAND ferry

The VLIELAND required repair following a recent incident that took place as she was departing the harbour in Harlingen. As a result of the accident, the vessel’s SB engine room became flooded. DSHL carried out an emergency operation, closing the hole, before moving the vessel on to the yard for full repairs.

At the yard, DSHL carried out a series of works on the vessel, including the removal of the main- and auxiliary engines, the gearboxes and all electrical equipment and 4km wiring. Following this, the yard undertook the rebuilding of the engine room. This included re-installing the main and auxiliary engines.

Damen Shipyards Group Marks Twentieth Anniversary Of Its Ferries Department

By | 2020 Newsletter week 20 | No Comments

The story of Damen Ferries starts just before the new millennium, when the management noticed high levels of activity in the fast ferry sector.

Damen entered the market with the acquisition of a license to construct the successful Australian River Runner design. The company’s first project in the sector was the construction of four River Runners for the Dordrecht Waterbus Service.

Shortly after this, Damen acquired its own yard in Singapore, as well as the design for the Flying Cat 40 – a very successful fast ferry of which over 60 vessels would be constructed. In time, Damen would develop this design into the Damen Fast Ferries 4010 and 4212.

Today, Damen builds a wide range of composite vessels at its dedicated Antalya yard in Turkey. In 2009, the product group expanded its reach with a broadened product portfolio that included larger road ferries alongside fast ferries. Damen Ferries has delivered ferries of diverse types and sizes to Europe, Africa, Asia and North and South America.

Damen Ferries continues to innovate with a firm focus on sustainability. As a result of the predicable – and relatively short – sailing routes encountered in waterborne public transport, the sector lends itself well to being the front runner in electric vessel propulsion.

Damen is building its electric and hybrid electric ferries as part of its E3 programme – environmentally friendly, efficient in operation and economically viable. The shipbuilder already has a number of so-called E-Cross ferry projects under its belt. This includes six hybrid diesel-electric Island Class ferries for BC Ferries in Canada, which are prepared for conversion to full-electric in the future when the regional infrastructure is in place.

Also for Canada, Damen is building a fully electric Road Ferry 6819E3 and a Road Ferry 9819E3 for Ontario. Another landmark project is Damen’s construction of seven fully electric 2306E3 Ferries for Arriva’s operation in Copenhagen.

Director Ferries Henk Grunstra, says, “We are very proud of what we have achieved over the last two decades. The world of maritime public transport has changed considerably in this time and we have changed with it, developing our product portfolio and production processes accordingly. We are looking forward to doing the same in the coming decades, responding to the market’s calls for increasing connectivity and sustainability and playing a leading role in the creation of waterborne public transport fit for the future.”  (Source: Damen press release)

BC Ferries Names and Christens the first Damen-Built Island Class Ferries

By | 2020 Newsletter week 8 | No Comments

BC Ferries Names and Christens the first Damen-Built Island Class Ferries

ISLAND DISCOVERY and ISLAND AURORA are the newest hybrid vessels to enter the fleet and will enter service in mid-2020, serving the Powell River – Texada Island and Port McNeill – Alert Bay – Sointula routes, respectively. The names were selected with community input and celebrate the beauty of the journey and the important connection to the coastal communities the ferries will soon serve.

A ceremony on 19 February began with a few words from BC Ferries and Damen Shipyards, followed by the unveiling of the ships’ names, and the christening of the hulls.

Timor-Leste Government Chooses Damen for Ropax Delivery

By | 2019 Newsletter week 48 | No Comments

A new ferry route will connect the Southeast Asian Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste’s capital Dili with the Oecusse enclave and Ataúro.

A new RoPax Ferry 6716 will be built by the Damen’s Yichang Shipyard in China, for the Republic of Timor-Leste.

With an ageing vessel currently in operation, the Port Authority of Timor-Leste IP (APORTIL) recognises the need to maintain the safety and reliability of its fleet, hence the investment in a new ship. In a project co-financed by Timor-Leste and the Government of Germany, the RoPax Ferry 6716 is scheduled to begin operations in 2021, and will lower operation costs, increase reliability of the service, and improve employment opportunities due to the improvement in transportation networks. In preparation for the ferry’s arrival, over the next 19 months APORTIL will undertake work to improve and build support infrastructures.

The extension of these maritime passenger connections will initially include a connection between Dili and Com, in addition to those already in place between Díli, Ataúro and Oecusse, with the aim of improving the quality of life of the populations in these areas.

The RoPax Ferry 6716 will have a width of 16 metres, a draft of 3.3 metres and a length of 67.3 metres, and its deck, with a 27-ton axle load, will reach 4.8 metres in height. The vessel is capable of a maximum speed of 10 knots and will have a carrying capacity of 380 pax.

Damen Road Ferry 6819 E3 Launched at Damen Shipyards Galati

By | 2019 Newsletter week 48 | No Comments

On 14 November 2019, Amherst Islander II, a Damen Road Ferry 6819 E3, was launched at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the owner, the Ministry of Transportation Ontario, Canada, as well as Damen personnel.

The Amherst Islander II is part of a two-vessel order that Damen will deliver to the Ministry of Transportation Ontario. The E3 ferries will be the first ferries in North America with the ability to operate fully electric and will reduce the amount of emissions by the equivalent of 7 million kg of carbon dioxide each year.

With an overall length of close to 72m and a loading capacity of up to 42 cars, the Amherst Islander II is the smaller of the two. The larger 99m Damen Road Ferry 9819 E3, the Wolfe Islander IV, is currently under construction in the dry docks and will be launched mid-2020.

Both ferries will operate solely on the Lake Ontario in between Amherst- and Wolfe Island.

TOP STORY

By | 2019 Newsletter week 45 | No Comments

Damen Shipyards To Build Four More Hybrid Electric Vessels

BC Ferries continues to roll out its Clean Futures Plan and has awarded Damen Shipyards Group contracts to build four more battery electric-hybrid Island Class vessels scheduled to go into service in 2022.

In the spring of 2017, BC Ferries awarded Damen contracts to build two “first in class” of these battery electric-hybrid vessels. These vessels have successfully completed sea trials and will arrive in Victoria, B.C. by January 2020.

With the extension of the partnership between BC Ferries and Damen now confirmed, Damen will extend its agreement with Point Hope Shipyards of Victoria, B.C. to provide technical and warranty support for the new vessels with their local staff.

The Island Class is a battery-powered ferry. When electric charging technology matures to make electricity available in the quantities required, BC Ferries will operate these new ships as all-electric ferries, using clean energy. In the interim, these ships will use an on board low-sulphur diesel hybrid system.

Damen Building Two LNG-Hybrid RoRo’s for Seaspan Ferries

By | 2019 Newsletter week 22 | No Comments

Damen is building two LNG-Hybrid RoRo vessels for Seaspan Ferries at Damen Shipyards Mangalia.

These two innovative 149m vessels will join Seaspan’s fleet with 1,034 lane metres and have 209m3 LNG storage onboard and 2 megawatt hours of battery capacity.

They will go into service for Seaspan Ferries as part of the company’s fleet replacement program and work alongside the SEASPAN SWIFT and SEASPAN RELIANT.

The vessels will be classed by Bureau Veritas and will go into operation in 2021 with construction starting in 2019.