MHI delivers double rainbow

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has completed delivery of two 11,410g car ferries from its Shimonoseki Shipyard to local ferry operator Kyuetsu Ferry in coownership with the Corporation for Advanced Transport and Technology. Named New Rainbow Love and New Rainbow Bell, these newbuildings entered service on July 9 and October 5 respectively and ply on the Hakata (Kyushu), Naoetsu (Niigata), and Muroran (Hokkaido) route. The pair will replace the 1996/7 built 13,600g Rainbow Bell and Rainbow Love, both of which will be sold. Measuring 190m in length and 26.4m in width, these vessels have a service speed of just under 25 knots and a carrying capacity of 154 12m-long trucks, seven 8.5m-long trucks, 62 passenger cars, and 150 passengers. The ferries can cater for elderly and handicapped people with large lifts giving a generous floor space as well as special cabins with bathrooms adapted to accommodate wheelchair bound passengers. The main features of the sister-ships are the newly developed slim hull and two 14,850kW compact high-output Pielstick 12PC4.2B main diesel engines driving twin four bladed CPPs. This results in a relative high-speed monohull vessel with a service speed of just under 25 knots, while achieving a significantly reduced fuel consumption according to the builder.