Finnlines opts for air lubrication for RoRo newbuildings

The two 235 metre-long Superstar-class vessels will have a capacity of 5,100 lane metres and will carry up to 1,100 passengers. The newbuilds will be deployed on routes linking Sweden with Finland once they enter service.

The Silverstream System delivery package includes a series of air release units (ARUs). The ARUs are installed in the flat bottom of a vessel to generate a rigid carpet of microbubbles that travel the full length of the hull.

The equipment will be delivered from a Silverstream manufacturing partner in China to the shipyard in 2021. The vessels will be delivered in mid 2023.

The announcement of the order on 19 May followed the recent completion of trials of the Silverstream System on another Grimaldi Group newbuild ro-ro vessel, the Eco Valencia. Fuel and emissions savings of 5.1% were recorded during ALS testing on the Grimaldi Green 5th Generation ro-ro carrier. Silverstream continues to progress with installations across the rest of Grimaldi’s GG5G fleet.