Fast ferries: why boom times are here to stay

The fast ferry has enjoyed a strong comeback, with a sustained period of stability expected. PST explores the reasons why

After an active start in the 1990s, fast ferry newbuild construction slowed down. But recently it has enjoyed a surge in new orders. In the words of Incat chief executive Robert Clifford “These are fast ferry business boom times.”

The global fast ferry orderbook shows there are 70 fast ferries under construction. US shipyards dominate the orderbook, with 28 orders being built in these yards, which include Horizon Shipbuilding, Metal Shark Aluminium and All American Marine. Australian yards are also prominent, with 14 orders spread across Aulong Shipbuilding, Richardson Devine, Austal and Incat Tasmania.

Other players include Norway’s Brodrene Aa, while Asia is represented with Austal Philippines and PT Cahaya Samudra.

Not only does Mr Clifford believe these are boom time, but he said “I don’t believe that it is boom and bust, I believe there is a sustained period of stability for fast ferry building, with repeat customers who want bigger and better boats.”

He explained “The economics of fast ferries are much better than 10-15 years ago and conventional ferries are in many ways getting the worst of it – they have to fit scrubbers or run on low sulphur fuel.”

He said the contrast with the fast ferry market is that these ferries have always had to run on LSO because HFO requires much bigger engines which is not possible on fast ferries, which are trying to save weight.

“This is normal for us but not normal for conventional ships. When fuel costs go up for conventional ferries for LSO post-2020, fast ferries will be so much more competitive.”

LNG the ‘way forward’

Mr Clifford believes LSO is not the only option for fast ferries. “LNG is here for the long term – it might not be the end of the story, but it will be around for long time.”

He said that while the weight of the gas tanks needed might be challenging for fast ferries, “we can live with the tanks”. And he added “The technology of the tanks is improving, they are lighter today than they were and we look for further improvement”.

“LNG will be the normal fuel for the next ten years”

For Mr Clifford, LNG is the way forward for fast ferries. “LNG will be the normal fuel for the next 10 years.”

Incat has entered into a design contract with Argentinian ferry operator Buquebus for a dual-fuel LNG high-speed ferry. This follows in the footsteps of Francisco, the LNG-dual-fuelled ferry launched in 2013, which Incat also built.

The main difference in the proposed design of the potential new ferry and Francisco is that the latter was powered by a gas turbine, but Incat is suggesting the former be powered by reciprocating engines. Mr Clifford explained “It will be simpler than using gas turbines as these are very complex engines and the delivery of gas is difficult.”

The other way the proposed newbuild stands out is that it is much bigger than Francisco, at 3,000 m² rather than 1,000 m, and with a length of 130 m compared to 99 m.

Other interesting themes within the fast ferry sector include the growing use of trimaran fast ferry design. Austal shipyard scooped a contract to build two trimaran ferries for Fred Olsen in 2017. The €126M (US$152M) contract represents Fred Olsen SA’s largest-ever ferry order. This order comes on the back of the 2005 launch of Benchijigua Express, a 127 m stabilised monohull (trimaran) vessel that Austal built for Fred Olsen.

Austal explained that the trimaran is an excellent vessel for sea routes that are long or rough due to the superior passenger comfort compared to a catamaran.

Unlike catamarans and monohulls, the trimaran gives the designer the ability to fine tune or adjust the roll characteristic of the hull form. This adjustment is achieved by increasing or decreasing the volume of the amahs (side hulls). More volume in the amahs will give the trimaran a stiffer or faster roll characteristic closer to a catamaran, less volume a softer roll characteristic similar to a monohull.

Technical developments can be seen as Austal has developed a new generation ride control system consisting of a bow-mounted T-Foil. This helps reduce pitching motions and roll control foils mounted on the amahs (outer hulls). Roll control is also helped by using two large flaps located on the centre hull just forward of the waterjets. Austal has conducted an R&D programme to improve the control system since the earlier generation trimarans. This work, along with advances in the vessel’s hull design, will offer passengers an improved level of comfort compared to the earlier trimaran vessels.

Austal delivered the trimaran Condor Express to Condor Ferries in 2015.

Enter new yards

The number of shipyards that build fast ferries is relatively compact – but a recent one has been added to the mix. Wight Shipyard in the Isle of Wight, UK has quickly made a name for itself since it built Red Funnel’s Red Jet 6 in 2015 – reintroducing fast ferry construction to the UK, as it is the first high-speed ferry to be built there in 15 years. Since then Wight Shipyard has had a range of orders, including Red Jet 7, catamarans for MBNA Thames Clippers and fast ferries for Mexico’s Ultramar and Austria’s Twin City Liners.

Ultramar’s ferries are due for delivery in April and July this year. The two 37-m ferries will carry 180 passengers and travel at a speed of 20-25 knots.

Wight Shipyard chief executive Peter Morton told PST “They are efficient and using the latest MTU engines that will run on quite a low MCR; there are limited facilities for ship repair in Cancun [where Ultramar is based], so they to tend to like low maintenance boats, and running at 60/65 MCR means they are quite fuel efficient.”

He singled out that the yard had made a “big effort” to make the ferries lighter – and indeed they will be 20 or 30 tonnes lighter than current ships in the fleet.

Mr Morton explained “We developed some building techniques that include a lot of glueing and riveting on non-structural items, so we can use lighter panels on these.”

The ferries represent a change for Ultramar – they had previously built their ferries in the US, but this time they chose UK’s Wight Shipyard. Commenting on why he thought the yard scooped the contract, Mr Morton said it was a “combination that US yards are very busy because of the Jones Act and I think it is because we have developed a building technique that delivers boats much quicker.”

Mr Morton said “Not many European yards build lightweight high-speed ferries and we are concentrating on fuel savings – that is our USP, that we are really pushing build techniques to cut weight.”

Wight Shipyard Co also delivered its first export order for a 250-passenger river catamaran to Central Danube Region Marketing & Development’s Twin City Liner in February 2019.

The new vessel is a low-wash round bilge catamaran designed by Incat Crowther. The Danube presents a challenging operating environment with currents up to 8 knots and water depths in the main navigation channel as low as 100 cm. The hull form is designed to cope with water conditions reasonably expected on the river, being able to resist floating timber and debris. As a restricted waterway it is imperative that wave wash is minimised.

The vessel is powered by four Scania DI16 072M main engines, each producing 809 kW at 2300 rpm. Capable of reaching a maximum speed of 38 knots, the vessel will sail on the Danube at a service speed of 32.4 knots at modest MCR.