RMC awarded EUR120m ice class RoPax contract

The EUR120m contract was announced on 11 January 2019. The RoPax will have two cargo decks with a total capacity of 1500 lanemeters and with drive-through arrangement, and a capacity of 800 passengers.

The propulsion system will be a hybrid system with a combination of a dual fuel (LNG/Biogas and diesel/SCR) and batteries, connected to azimuth thrusters/pods.

The vessel will meet the tighter environmental standards being introduced in the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea’s designation as a MARPOL Annex IV special area for passenger ship sewage will take effect from 1 June 2019 for new vessels and from 1 June 2021 for existing vessels. Passenger vessels will be required to remove nutrients – including nitrogen and phosphorous – from wastewater before discharge. The Baltic’s NOx Emission Control Area (NECA) will take effect from 1 January 2021.

The vessel is intended to connect the Swedish city of Umea with the Finnish city of Vaasa, shortening the current 800km road distance to 80km across the Gulf of Bothnia as part of the EU’s TEN-T infrastructure framework. The connection is expected to be navigable year-round as far as possible, and the RoPax will be 1A Super ice-class rated, in order to be able to operate in the Gulf of Bothnia.