Delays with the delivery of the ferry's interior components push back original July launch date
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Irish Continental Group (ICG) is now set to debut Irish Ferries’ new €150 million (US$184 million) cruise ferry W.B. Yeats in September 2018, rather than July 2018, following delays at Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) in Germany.
FSG began construction with a steel-cutting ceremony in April 2017, laid the keel in September 2017 and then floated the 1,855-passenger ferry out of her building dock on 19 January 2018, the same day as her christening ceremony.
Originally, W. B. Yeats was set to join the fleet in July, but there has been a delay in the delivery of the interior components for the public areas and in the electrical system installation in the hull and deckhouse. To speed up the process, FSG has made additional funds available to pay the second-level suppliers of the interior components directly.
“All the key functions of our shipyard and our key suppliers are on the ship and they meet daily to ensure direct and efficient communication,” said Rüdiger Fuchs, CEO of FSG. “Our team is fully focused on completing this first of two large passenger ferries that ICG has ordered from FSG.”
Set to be the largest cruise ferry to sail on the Irish Sea to date, the 54,985gt W. B. Yeats will offer year-round services between Ireland and France, and Dublin and Holyhead, Wales. The vessel will be able to accommodate have 435 cabins, including luxury suites with their own private balconies. There will also be almost three kilometres of car deck space.
FGS will soon start building a second, larger €165.2 million cruise ferry, which will be delivered in 2020. When she debuts on the route between Dublin and Holyhead, the newbuild will be the largest in the world in terms of vehicle capacity and will also boast accommodation for 1,800 passengers and crew.