By
Rebecca Gibson |
Miraejet Co’s new 440-passenger fast ferry has started service in Busan, South Korea, following her christening on 6 October.
Named in honour of one of the ships deployed on Christopher Columbus’ first voyage to the West Indies, Nina is the sixth vessel Damen shipyard has built for South Korea. The ferry was delivered in just four months and operates between Busan and popular tourist destination Tsushima Island in Japan.
“We were looking for a more efficient vessel compared to our existing monohull hydrofoil in terms of fuel consumption, but any new vessel should not compromise safety and comfort levels,” said Michelle Hwang, Miraejet Co’s CEO. “We chose Damen because it could provide us with an economically efficient vessel, which actually cuts fuel consumption in half and at the same time, enables us to double our passenger capacity.”
Nina is a Damen Fast Ferry 4010 and has been fitted with twin MJP 650 waterjets, enabling the vessel to operate at a speed of 34 knots.
“With two MTU 16V4000 main engines with a 1A rating, it only needs to be overhauled every 24,000 hours,” said Robert Luth, Damen product manager for fast ferries. “This leads to a substantial reduction in maintenance costs when compared to other fast ferries. Additionally, we customised this vessel with extra fendering in the bow section to protect it against the low quays that are used for mooring in Tsushima.”