Berlin postponement ‘not due to problems’

Tom Todd writes: Scandlines and P+S Werften said the originally planned 9 March naming of Berlin was being postponed to 3 May, when both Berlin and her sister ship Copenhagen would now be named together.

There has been German media speculation about delays and possible building problems at the yard. Asked to comment on this, Scandlines referred The Motorship to P+S Werften where spokeswoman Britt Fischer-Jahn denied the postponement had anything to do with Berlin construction problems. She said it was “in order to offer guests a comprehensive presentation of both ferries at the same time”.

Even so, the change at such short notice is a little puzzling. Even the owners and the yard apologised for changing the date at such “short notice” before the originally planned 9 March naming. The change also appears to mean that the maiden voyage of Berlin, originally planned after hand-over late March between Germany’s Rostock and Gedser in Denmark, will not now take place until after May.

Danish-German Scandlines is investing €230 million on the ships and on handling in Rostock and Gedser. With the first ship now no longer coming on stream in March, expanded facilities being built there presumably also don’t need to be ready quite as soon as planned. Construction in both ports is already well-advanced.

The new ferries will carry 1,500 passengers each and 480 cars or 96 trucks on about 1,600 lane-metres. Each of the 20.5 knot ships has five MaK 9 M 32 C main engines with Cat Common Rail capable of providing a combined 22,500 kW and speeds of 20.5 knots.