Damen design chosen for Ferry Dubai project

The Marine Agency of Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has chosen a Damen Shipyards, Holland, design for the $50 million Ferry Dubai project initially planned to carry three million passengers a year from Dubai Creek to the city’s offshore islands such as Nakheel’s The World and the Palm Trilogy.

“Ferry Dubai has a spectacular design, a low-wash catamaran with an air-conditioned interior and comfortable seating for 100 passengers (84 seats as economy class, 14 seats as business class and 2 seats for people with special needs),” said Mattar Al-Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA. “Ferry Dubai will be fitted with three LCD and DVD monitors, three toilets and a kiosk for selling gift items and snacks. The new ferries will be 32 metres in length and 7.2 metres in width, and has a designed speed of up to 24 knots. Each vessel will weigh around 20 tonnes and be fitted with twin Caterpillar C18 ACERT diesel engines of 450 hp each.

In the first phase, RTA will operate 10 aluminium ferries covering four key stations which include Gold Souk Station, Union Square Station, City Center Station and Al-Ghubaiba Station. Phase II will cover Dubai Creek extensions, following completion of the new bridges. In subsequent phases there will be plans to extend the service to link with Dubai Maritime City, the emirate of Sharjah, The Palm islands, The World and The Waterfront.”

According to a Dubai press report, Damen “has commissioned a Chinese shipyard near Hong Kong to build the ships.”