Wight Shipyard Co to build river catamaran for the Danube

Isle of Wight-based Wight Shipyard Co is to build a 250-passenger river catamaran to operate for Central Danube Region Marketing & Development’s Twin City Liner tourist service, which runs on the River Danube between Vienna, Austria and Bratislava, Slovakia.

The new vessel will be designed by marine engineering design firm Incat Crowther. The hull will be designed to cope with the water conditions expected on the river, so it will be resistant to floating timber and debris. The vessel will be powered by four Scania DI16 072M main engines to enable her to reach speeds of 38 knots.

Onboard, the ferry’s main cabin will have seating for 186 passengers and a kiosk providing a range of snacks and refreshments. Meanwhile, the upper deck will have external seating for 29 passengers, interior seating for 35 passengers and space for 12 bikes.

“This order for Twin City Liner in Vienna, our first export order, follows domestic orders for Red Funnel and MBNA Thames Clippers, both of which we secured against international competition,” said Peter Morton, CEO of Wight Shipyard. “Our reputation for building the finest high-speed ferries in the world is spreading, making the prospects for Wight Shipyard look healthy. Our strong order book is a big vote of confidence for our Isle of Wight shipwrights, the marine industry and indeed the UK economy.”

Once the new vessel is delivered in summer 2019, Central Danube Region Marketing & Development will be able to meet projected capacity growth on its Twin City Liner service, which currently carries more than 148,000 passengers between Vienna and Bratislava each year using two high-speed catamarans. “With the new vessel from Wight Shipyard Co we want to extend the success story of Twin City Liner for the next 25 years,” said Gerd Krämer, managing director of Twin City Liner. “Customer experience is key to our business and with our new catamaran we are promising our passengers an even more exciting and enjoyable time on the Danube River. We have been impressed with the quality of the three vessels Wight Shipyard has delivered to Red Funnel in Southampton and MBNA Thames Clipper in London over the past 15 months. We are convinced that we have found the right shipyard partner with the experience, dedication and passion in the field of building high-quality, high-speed vessels.”