LNG dual-fuelled Honfleur will now be delivered in 2020
The delivery date of Brittany Ferries’ LNG dual-fuelled Honfleur has been pushed back.
The ferry operator said in a statement “Due to a delay at the shipyard, Honfleur will unfortunately now not be delivered in time for the summer 2019 season as originally hoped. However, work has now recommenced on the ship and both the shipyard and Brittany Ferries’ teams are working hard together to deliver the ship in time for the 2020 season.”
Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft shipyard, which is building the ship, made a loss on the back of constructing Irish Ferries’ WB Yeats – but the shipyard took “immediate action” and “is making good progress”, Shippax Ferry Conference delegates were told.
Flensburger head of sales and design André Powilleit explained “It was an ambitious project in price, schedule and quality. It definitely met quality – we received positive feedback. But we had a financial hiccup earlier this year that was related to this project, so we made a loss [this was reported in the media]. Now, we have taken immediate action, received a new investor and replaced our chief executive.
“We are re-planning and it is quite a complex activity because [it involves] suppliers, customers and the shipyard itself but we are making good progress and pushing hard on our next vessels.”
While Honfleur is delayed, at least the company’s bunkering infrastructure will be ready. With no permanent bunkering along the busy Ouistreham-Portsmouth route, Brittany Ferries has opted for truck-based fuelling at Ouistreham that deploys an innovative combination of onboard vehicles and cranes. Lorries with ISO tanks will be driven directly onto the 187.4-m vessel, with the tanks hoisted into position in frames next to a fixed storage tank with a maximum capacity of 350 m3 at the rear of the superstructure. Once empty, the tank containers will be offloaded during the next call at Ouistreham and replaced by filled units.
Honfleur will provide capacity for 1,680 passengers and up to 550 cars and 64 trailers – or an all-freight roro payload of 130 trailers. As well as being the first vessel to bunker with onboard cranes, it will be the first Brittany Ferries’ vessel powered by diesel-electric propulsion. Four Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines with a total output of 29,700 kW will drive electric generators and propulsion motors for two fixed-pitch propellers with flap rudders. Manoeuvring capability is enhanced with two 2,000-kW thrusters at the bow and one at the stern.
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