109 Stena RoRo and CMI Jinling Weihai shipyard are building 15 E-Flexer ro-pax ferries, all with the same base design that has been adapted for individual vessels operated by six different ferry brands. They include Brittany Ferries’ Galicia, Attica Group's as-yet unnamed newbuild, Marine Atlantic's Ala'suinu, and Stena Line’s Stena Estrid Photo: Peter Mild Photo: Marine Atlantic Photo: Stena Line ferry design, ordered in series at a good price, can be adapted to cope with the demands of different routes, and the needs of charterers. The charter market is a golden opportunity for those with adaptable ships. When working with a ship series, shipyards can easily vary the interior fit-out of individual vessels to incorporate different passenger requirements, such as overnight accommodation or fittings for terminal ramps, without unduly making them more expensive. The future needs of operators for different fuel options can also be accommodated more easily at the building stage, rather than in subsequent retrofitting. This is now important, with operators all weighing up the options for greater sustainability and anticipating regulatory changes, and with battery development moving fast, in parallel with designs for hybrid machinery and different fuels. Could ferry operators cooperate more to source the replacement ships they need, at a better price than they might have obtained by “going it alone”? We may be seeing the beginnings of such a development, which could make some sense, if one considers the difficulties some operators are facing when it comes to affording their replacement programmes. Good design might surely evolve along with ferries that were suitable for a wide range of routes. Those across the New Zealand Cook Straits or the North West American coastal services – two areas where there is an urgent need for replacement tonnage – might be considered as an example where there could be scope for cooperation in a procurement programme. It has been suggested that the present and future needs of the Scottish island ferry services could also offer an opportunity for a properly funded and long-term dedicated shipbuilding programme, rather than a piecemeal process. The early days of freight ro-ro design saw some notable examples of series building, which resulted in highly successful ships, many of which were built specifically for charter. Half a century on, in an ideal world, the fleet replacement requirements of ferry operators would be in harmony with the ability of builders to supply these needs, so the price volatility that comes with wildly fluctuating demand can possibly be damped down over time. Real-world experience suggests this is unlikely to happen, which is a pity in an era full of technical and regulatory demands that will inevitably make ferry construction, and the operation of these important ships, more expensive. “ A basic ferry design, ordered in series at a good price, can be adapted to cope with different routes”
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