Neptun Werft readies rare ferry newbuild

Tom Todd writes: The 15.8m wide double-ended ferry is being outfitted up to November after floating out and will then sail west for island-hopping service from December as the new flagship of a WDR fleet of four modern ferries. WDR has said Neptun was chosen over the Sietas Yard in Hamburg, which built sister ship Uthlande last year, because this time the east Germans had offered “the best overall package”.

It was the success of Uthlande that prompted WDR to bring forward the order for Schleswig-Holstein. Just recently, after six months in service, WDR beached Uthlande for inspection and reported her propulsion equipment “looked almost new”. The design had “without reservation proven itself under sometimes difficult conditions”, the owner said.

The 370dwt Schleswig-Holstein is a little lighter than her sister and also narrower but has some interior modifications which WDR said increased passenger comfort. She carries up to 75 vehicles and 1,200 passengers and draws about 1.7m, making her ideal for shallow water operation. WDR said it is intended to operate her for 25-30 years.

The newbuilding has four Caterpillar main Diesels Type 3508C-DITA-SCAC each of 758kW configured with four Voith Schneider drives, two at each end and providing a service speed of 12 knots. Two Type C9 DITA auxiliary Diesels, also from Caterpillar, generate 200kWe at 50Hz of on-board electrical power.

Neptun Werft, which was at one time Germany’s biggest and best known shipyard, is now a subsidiary of cruise ship builder Meyer Werft but clearly retains its flexibility within that group.

Although it mainly builds inland cruise ships, the Berlin Government late August confirmed a €124.4 million order reported mid year for a new research ship for delivery 2013. The yard is also “highly involved” in the construction and outfitting of Meyer Werft’s first LNG newbuilding – a 156m, 15,600m³ ship for delivery end 2012 to Dutch shipping company Anthony Veder.

Meyer has built 55 LPG and LEG carriers over the years and Neptun has already been involved in their building, but the yard is entering new territory with the Veder newbuild. Meyer says it is concentrating on mid-scale ships of this type and yard chief Bernard Meyer predicted “a great future” for the smaller-scale LNG ships.