Meyer gets Brittany ferry

In a blow to the French shipbuilding industry, the English Channel ferry operator Brittany Ferries has confirmed that it has placed a $150 million contract with German shipbuilder Meyer Werft of Papenburg for a 40,000g ferry. Many pundits in the industry had expected the order to go to the local French yard of Chantiers de l?Atlantique but the shipyard admitted it was not able to meet the delivery deadline of early 2004. A spokesman said its existing workload meant that it would not have been able to deliver the vessel before April or May 2004 at the earliest, whereas Brittany Ferries had specified that it wanted delivery in early 2004.

Scheduled for delivery in March 2004, the vessel, to be called Pont-Aven, is claimed to be the first northern European ropax ferry to feature cruise facilities such as an open deck swimming pool. The ship will carry 2,200 passengers, 650 cars and 20 lorries. Accommodation will be provided for 2,000 passengers in 650 cabins, all of which will have en suite facilities. Some of the top suites will also have balconies or terraces. The Pont-Aven?s 185m length and 31m beam will make it the largest vessel in the fleet. It will also be the fastest with a service speed of 27 knots.

The relatively high speed will enable the company to offer two sailings per week between its home port of Roscoff and the Irish port of Cork, instead of one at present. It will also be able to operate on the company?s route between Plymouth and Santander in northern Spain, where the existing 24 hour crossing will be reduced to less than 20 hours.

A transparent sliding dome that can be opened or closed depending on the weather will protect the open air pool and café. Other onboard facilities will include a range of dining opportunities such as an ? la carte restaurant, a self-service restaurant, bistros and tea rooms, a central atrium with panoramic lifts, a shopping mall and cocktail and cabaret bars.

Some 25% of the cost of the new vessel is to be paid by ship owning company Sabemen. Its shareholders, apart from Brittany Ferries itself, are the Brittany Regional Council and four departmental councils. The remainder of the cost is to be provided under French tax-break provisions by the banking pool, which, apart from Credit Agricole Indosuez, includes French banks BNP Paribas, Credit Cooperatif, Credit Industriel de l?Ouest and Germany?s KVF.

In mid-August, Brittany Ferries will take delivery of the $120 million 36,000g Mont St Michel. The ship will go into service on the company?s Caen-Portsmouth line about six weeks later than the scheduled delivery of July 4. Although the vessel?s construction was completed on time, the Dutch shipyard of van der Giessen-de Noord suffered delays in the apparent late supply of internal furnishings.