Ferry News

Contract Cancelled

The government of Trinidad & Tobago has cancelled its lease contract for the Ocean Flower II after the lncat craft failed to arrive in local waters by the end of July. The 4,114gt/1996 built Ocean Flower II was part of a two vessel deal, the other being the 19,963gt/1988 built Ro-Ro vessel Cabo Star, both supplied by Bridgemans Services Group LP of Canada.

Another Bump For Fast Craft

On the evening of 17th August the lncat built 5,743gt/1998 built Manannan made contact with No.1 linkspan berth whilst attempting to berth in Douglas Harbour at around 2200. No injuries were reported and all passengers and vehicles arriving from Liverpool were safely disembarked. The 0730 round trip of the fast craft from Douglas was cancelled on 18th August whilst repairs were underway. The afternoon round trip from Douglas at 1500 was retimed to 2000 to give time for repairs to be inspected and the vessel passed for service. The damage sustained was to a bow fin. The Ben-my-Chree’s sailings were unaffected and the 7,606gt/1998 built Arrow was again drafted in to operate a relief freight sailing. Meanwhile, on 14th August the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company launched a 3-week public consultation as it considers operating services to and from the Port of Lame in Northern Ireland to help boost visitor and other traffic. Relocating Belfast services to Lame would lead to reduced sailing times between Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, as well as allowing some schedules to be revised to offer more convenient departure timings from Douglas.

Newbuild For Fjord Line

On 24th August Austal Limited announced a new contract valued at €73 million to design and build a 109 metre high-speed vehicle passenger ferry for Fjord Line of Norway. The all-aluminium catamaran, designed by Austal Australia, will be the 8th large high-speed commercial ferry (over 100 metres in length) to be built by the company.