Fayard to complete passenger areas by the end of March and complete work in mid-April
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Danish shipyard Fayard expects to complete the new passenger areas onboard Scandlines’ Berlin before the end of March, and to deliver the ferry in mid-April.
Berlin, which will debut on the Rostock-Gedser route between Germany and Denmark, is currently undergoing a €100 million conversion at Fayard’s Munkebo yard. Engineers are completing final comprehensive tests and will then undergo on a five-day sea trial before arriving at her Rostock ferry berth to start operation.
Sister vessel Copenhagen, which is also being converted, is expected to go into operation late this summer.
Both Berlin and Copenhagen will have the capacity to carry 1,300, rather than 1,000, passengers and 460 cars or 96 trucks, more than double the capacity of the ships currently sailing on the route.
The two new ferries will replace Kronprins Frederik and Prince Joachim, which currently operate on the Rostock-Gedser route and will offer more regular departures every two hours, staying in the harbour for just 15 minutes.
To ensure a stable transition, Scandlines has retained the former Great Belt ferry Kronprins Frederik and plans to use it as a replacement ferry on both the Rostock-Gedser and Puttgarden-Rødby routes. In May 2016, Prins Joachim will be transferred to European Seaways and operate in Greece.