Spain wins Finnish ferry order

The Spanish engineering and consultancy company Sener has tied up with Astilleros de Sevilla the basic and detail engineering of a new Viking Line Ro-Pax ferry. The 133 m long, 1,500 passenger and 520 car capacity ferry is intended to operate short international routes on the Baltic Sea and will be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment. Some design features of the newbuilding will be nine decks, 21.9 m beam, 5.7m draught and a 20,000 kW propulsion plant consisting of four diesel engines connected to two propeller shaft lines with variable pitch propellers giving a 22 knot service speed. Delivery is slated for March 2009.

The $80 million Finnish ferry will be built at the Seville shipyard of Astilleros de Sevilla, formerly part of the now dissolved state-owned IZAR group, and will be the first newbuilding for the yard since it was recently acquired by Astilleros de Huelva. The shipyard is located on the Guadalquivir River bank in southern Spain and has kept a keen interest in developing its expertise in the ro-ro and ro-pax ferry market. It is planning also the construction of chemical and product tankers and multi purpose vessels.