112 changed greatly since we started building our newest fleet member in spring 2020 with more hurdles along the way than we have ever experienced, but we have met all the challenges head on and are happy that our beautiful MyStar has now been completed.” Also in December, China Merchants Jingling Shipyard delivered Stena RoRo’s 214.5-metre-long, LNG-powered E-Flexer Santoña, two months ahead of schedule. Operated by Brittany Ferries, Santoña is a sister to Salamanca (delivered in November 2022) and has a design speed of 23 knots, 2,714 metres of freight lane, and capacity for 1,015 passengers. The ferry will be followed by E-Flexer 11 (to be named Saint-Malo) and 12 in 2024 and 2025, replacing two of the longest-serving ships in the fleet, Bretagne and Normandie. P&O Ferries has also taken delivery of the 47,394gt P&O Pioneer, the first of two large double-enders for its Dover-Calais service, from GSI Shipyard. Sister P&O Libertè will follow in the fourth quarter of 2023. The world’s largest double-ended ferries will also be the largest ferries to ever operate between Dover, UK, and Calais, France, and their unique design will ensure faster turnaround times at both ports. Designed by Denmark’s OSK ShipTech, the 230.5-metre-long by 30.8-metre-wide ferries will be able to carry 1,500 passengers and 2,658 lane metres of freight. Italy’s Cantiere Navale Visentini shipyard delivered Corsica Linea’s LNG ro-pax ferry, A Galeotta, in December too. The ship is Corsica Linea’s first-ever newbuild and serves the link between Marseille and Ajaccio/Bastia in France. The profile of Visentini vessels is instantly recognisable around the world, with their Naos design, simple accommodation, good vehicle deck layout and efficient running costs proving attractive to many well-known operators. This design has been refined significantly for A Galeotta, which has a longer and wider hull and capacity for 650 passengers, 2,500 metres of freight and 150 cars. Visentini is also constructing a larger version of this design for a 1,000-passenger vessel that will be chartered to Polferries in the second half of 2024. Germany’s TT-Line took delivery of its second green ship, Peter Pan, on 28 November, debuting it on the route between Trelleborg, Sweden, and Travemünde, Germany, alongside its sister, The ships are TT-Line’s greenest to date and carry 800 passengers and over 200 trucks. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) took delivery of Japan’s first LNG-fuelled ferry in January 2023. Sunflower Kurenai operates for MOL subsidiary Ferry Sunflower between Osaka and Beppu. The ship is the first of two 2200-metrelong ro-pax vessels from Mitsubishi at Shimonoseki; the second, Sunflower Murasaki, will follow in May. “ MyStar’s muchawaited arrival marks the beginning of yet another new era for the TallinnHelsinki route” Paavo Nõgene Tallink Grupp FERRY ORDER BOOK Photo: H Krüger CMAL first new Islay ferry will begin service in October 2024
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