Work finally starts on promised FSG newbuilds

The yard said work was now getting underway in December on a 209.79m x 26m cargo RoRo cargo ferry ship due for completion in April 2022. An option for a second identical newbuild has also been secured but the yard gave no completion date for that ship.

A spokesman for FSG – the Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft – told the Motorship no further information was available at present about the construction timetable or where the ships would see service. Tennor Group’s IVP Ship Invest ordered the newbuilds which earlier reports said would either be sold on or into long-term charter by Tennor.

They are the first orders for FSG since the insolvent yard was acquired and relaunched in September by its previous owner – the investment concern Tennor Holding. That followed expressed interest in a takeover by Russian-owned Pella Sietas in Hamburg.

The order for the two ferries was in fact announced and detailed more than three months ago by Tennor head Lars Windhorst. Why it has taken so long for building to start was not clear but resuming operations at the inactive Baltic yard with just 360 of its original 650 employees is likely to have been a major reason.

The newbuilds are near identical to Liekut delivered earlier this year and the last of eight new RoRo trailer ships built for former FSG owner Siem. Drawing a maximum 6.8m the duo will be Malta-flagged and boast 4,076 lane-metres for 283 trailers.

Propulsion will comprise two MAN 8L48/60-CR main engines of 9,600kW @ 500rpm providing 21.3 knots as well as two STX/MAN auxiliaries Type 6L21/31 each of 1,320kW. Max deadweight is given as 11,820t and gross tonnage as 32,770.

In addition each of the four-deck ships will have two 5m diameter CPPs, two S2-30 bow thrusters each of 1,500kW output and boast two FSG high-lift rudders and two flume tank stabilisers.

FSG just appointed new CEO Philipp Maracke said the latest newbuilding work was “an important building block for the future of the Flensburg shipyard”. It proved FSG’s ability to act and to “finally be able to develop and build highly efficient vessels again”, he added.

FSG led the world in the production of specialist RoRo tonnage before falling into financial difficulties in 2018. Maracke said it would continue to expand its “innovative lead in order to address the issue of zero emissions and achieve ecological and economic market leadership in special shipbuilding”.