Aker and Brittany Ferries sign LOI for ferry

Aker Yards and the French company Brittany Ferries have signed a Letter of Intent for the building of a roro-passenger ferry worth approximately 105-110 million euro for delivery in October 2008 at the latest.

The present orderbook of Aker Yards includes another order from Brittany Ferries, i.e. a trailer ropax worth EUR 80 million to be delivered in autumn 2007. The option agreement signed for a similar vessel on the 2nd of August 2005 has been transferred to this LOI for a different type of vessel.

The ferry is designed to carry passengers, private cars and road cargo vehicles between France and the United Kingdom at a speed of 23 knots. The 167 m long and 26.8 m wide vessel would have space for 1,500 passengers and 1.1 kilometres of vehicle deck space.

The new type of ferry has been developed in a close co-operation between the owner and the yard.

2005 has been a record year for Aker Yards in Finland which secured contracts for 12 newbuildings and 7 conversions, worth 1.8 billion euro. The orderbook at Aker Yards’ Finnish yards amounts to EUR 3.3. billion and consists of 16 newbuildings, including three of the world’s largest cruise vessels.