Fosen completion deal as Honfleur leaves FSG

A source at FSG – Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft – told The Motorship that Norway’s Siem group, which now owns the hull, had requested its removal. It had been collected last Sunday from the north German Baltic shipyard and was being towed to Norway by two tugs, the source added.

Fosen reported it was expected there this weekend and that a contract to outfit and complete the dual-fuel LNG RoPax ferry had been agreed between the yard and an unidentified subsidiary within Norway’s Siem Group.

Siem used to own FSG and provided funding for the yard to build much of the €195 million Honfleur. It acquired the semi-completed ship in a settlement deal with the bankrupt FSG earlier this year after Honfleur was finally cancelled by Brittany Ferries but made clear the ship would be completed elsewhere.

Announcing its contract now with Siem, Fosen quoted CEO Anders Straumsheim saying the project was important for the region’s shipyard industry and “well suited to Fosen capabilities”. It also quoted Siem Group’s Head of Shipping Kenneth Ross, who said the relationship with Fosen “had got off to a good start” and that Siem was pleased to place the order in Norway.

It was not known if construction changes were planned. Earlier Brittany Ferry specifications for Honfleur stipulated an 11-deck, 187.4 x 31m newbuild drawing 6.6m and described the ship as Europe’s largest and most modern LNG ferry. Other details mentioned before the order was cancelled included four DF (MGO and LNG) Wärtsilä main engines of total 29,700kW providing 22 knots and feeding electric generators and two shaft motors driving fixed propellers.

Brittany Ferries said at the time that Honfleur would also boast two 2,000kW bow thrusters, a 2,000kW stern thruster and two flap rudders. Designed for 1,680 passengers, the ferry was designed to offer 2,600 lane metres of capacity, equivalent to 130 trailers or 550 cars.

Despite the departure of Honfleur, FSG was reported to be on a sounder footing. Tennor Holding took over yard assets and 350 of its 600 employees as part of a restructuring transfer with effect from 1 September and the FSG source indicated that yard restructuring remained intact with 50 employees active.

However, The Motorship understands that no new orders have yet been placed and that the yard does not currently have an order on its books.

There was no further word of the two “firm” orders for 209m MAN-driven RoRo cargo ships placed by Tennor in August 2020 as part of the FSG restructuring. No construction timetable was set but early building was clearly intended.

The newbuilds are almost identical to Liekut. The vessel was delivered earlier this year and was the last in a series of eight versatile trailer newbuilds from FSG.