Polish-built Med vessels get makeover for Baltic

The recent purchase of two ropax ferries by DFDS Tor Line from Stocznia Szczecinska Nowa ? the company formed by ARP, the Polish Restructuring Agency, to take over the assets of the bankrupt Stocznia Szczecinska ? has given both companies a boost. The new management at the Polish yard raised some much needed cash in their ongoing struggle to put the pieces of the crestfallen shipbuilder back together in a commercially viable fashion, while DFDS gets almost instant fleet expansion through new tonnage.

The first ropax bought by DFDS was effectively completed and berthed at the Szczecin shipyard awaiting a new buyer. It had been built for Italian-based operator Lloyd Sardegna, who pulled out of its contract amid the uncertainty surrounding the Szczecin yard. It went to the Danish operator within days of the ARP deal?s conclusion.

The vessel required some modifications, such as the addition of fenders, in order to prepare it for its proposed service. These modifications took place at Fredericia Shipyard in Denmark and allowed the ship, called Dana Gloria, to enter service as a freight-only vessel in mid-August.

The second ship is scheduled for delivery in November, after more extensive modifications to give it an increased passenger capacity.

The ships, as they now stand, each have 77 cabins, 2,200 lane metres and a service speed of 22 knots. Dana Gloria is initially employed on the North Sea between Harwich, England and Esbjerg, Denmark. In October DFDS hopes to have obtained a passenger certificate in order to allow the ship to start taking passengers. In April next year, it is planned to sell Dana Gloria to DFDS Tor Line subisidiary, LISCO of Lithuania, for employment in its Baltic Sea services.

The second ship, when it enters service, will accommodate 600 passengers in 200 cabins. It will have a correspondingly expanded restaurant and public area. It will replace Dana Gloria on the Harwich to Esbjerg run in April next year.

Sven Olof Brax, chairman and senior partner at the Sweden-based shipbroker firm Brax Shipping, points out that ropax tonnage built for the Mediterranean (as these ships were) does not, in many cases, particularly suit Scandinavian trades.

Brax says an owner does not want to sacrifice vehicle space for cabins. So adding 100-plus cabins in an owner?s ideal conversion scenario would involve enlarging the superstructure. However this will add weight high up in the vessel, which may lead to problems with stability. He also points to additional complexities such as heightened electric power and fresh water demand and greater sewage treatment capacity in conducting such a conversion.

DFDS admits the ships aren?t exactly what it wanted. Ideally they would have a much larger passenger capacity, be a little bit faster and have an extra vehicle lane, according to a well-placed source within the company.

However the purchase price for the two vessels, about $66 million, and their availability for almost immediate delivery was too good to refuse it says. “Sometimes you have to grab an opportunity,” says the DFDS source.

DFDS will sacrifice vehicle space in order to increase passenger capacity. It will have most of the extra cabins built on the uppermost trailer deck, under the existing superstructure, and it will have the accommodation block extended aft a little. This will reduce vehicle lanes on this deck to four. To comply with the Stockholm stability regulations it will have additional bulkheads fitted in the lower hold, further reducing capacity by six trailers.

The company believes electricity generating capacity on the vessel (3 x 1,500kW units) is adequate as the reduction in air conditioning demand in northern Europe, compared to the Mediterranean, offsets the increased demand from more cabins. It puts forward a similar argument for fresh water demand. It is considering adding fresh water capacity by using a ballast tank as a fresh water tank, but this is mostly related to the length of crossing (16 hours). n