Double-ender enters WDR fleet

WDR’s €17.5 million investment in a second vessel to operate between the North-Frisian islands of Föhr and Amrum will improve transport capacity and passenger amenities.

Schleswig-Holstein is the 29th newbuild in the 126-year history of WDR, and was built by Neptun Werft, which belongs to the Meyer-Neptun Group. For the yard, this was its first venture into the ro-pax sector. “The double-ended ferry was a new type of ship and a reference project for Neptun Werft,” said Manfred Müller-Fahrenholz, managing director of Neptun Werft. “We have a great interest in this market segment and building this ship was an exciting project for us. We worked very closely with WDR throughout the project and carefully coordinated all necessary details, such as those concerning construction supervision, for example. It was a highly enjoyable joint project.”

Schleswig-Holstein will carry up to 1,200 persons and 75 cars. The ship’s design – with an identical stern and bow onto which four Voith-Schneider propellers are mounted – allows the ferry to navigate in either direction without having to go through time-consuming turning manoeuvres in the harbour. She is 75.88m long, 16.40m breadth, has a cruising speed of 12 knots and is able to carry up to 360 tonnes. At capacity, draught is 1.75m. This permits the vessel to operate irrespective of the water level in the Wadden Sea.

The design of Schleswig-Holstein is modelled on sister vessel Uthlande, with some changes made in the passenger accommodation.