Austal’s shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia, launched the Leonora Christina today, their largest catamaran built to date. This ship will ferry passengers at speeds up to 40 knots between Sweden and Denmark by mid-2011.
The final stages of construction of Austal’s largest catamaran to date were celebrated this week with a traditional ‘coin ceremony’, followed by the vessel’s successful launch.
Placing a coin at the foot of the mast of a newly constructed ship is an ancient maritime tradition which is believed to bring good luck to the vessel and its crew.
Senior Captain Soren Schow travelled from Denmark with a coin from the year 1660. This coin holds significance as it is from the same era as the ship’s namesake, Danish historical icon, Leonora Christina.
An Australian two dollar coin was placed alongside the Danish two penny coin in a small box which was fixed below the foot of the mast. “Leonora Christina” will join the 86 metre Austal-built catamaran, “Villum Clausen”, which has been operating the route between Rønne on the Danish island of Bornholm and Ystad in south east Sweden for over ten years.
“We look forward to welcoming Bornholmer Færgen’s newest ferry, “Leonora Christina” to Denmark, and are confident that this ship will exceed expectations,” said Senior Captain Schow.
The vessel is owned by Danish company Færgen (formerly Nordic Ferry Services), and will be operated by Bornholmer Færgen, a subsidiary of Færgen. Bornholmer Færgen currently operates a fleet of three ships (one of which is “Villum Clausen”), and has been transporting passengers to the Danish island of Bornholm since 1866.
Austal Chief Operating Officer, Andrew Bellamy, commented that Austal greatly values its customer relationships, and is proud to continue its relationship with the Danish company.
“Austal has worked closely with Færgen and Bornholmer Færgen throughout the design and construction of “Leonora Christina”, and is honoured to be part of this ancient maritime tradition, celebrating the final stages of construction of the vehicle-passenger ferry,” said Mr Bellamy.
The 113 metre ferry was designed and built in Austal’s Western Australian shipyard, and, once completed, will be able to hold up to 1,400 passengers and 357 cars, and travel at speeds of up to 40 knots.
Austal was awarded the contract in April 2009 following a competitive international tender process which saw Austal utilise its in-house design team and experience to develop a highly customised vessel design that met all Færgen’s requirements for the route.
The vessel has been built in accordance with the requirements and under the survey of Det Norske Veritas, conforming to International Maritime Organisation HSC Code and Danish regulations. Registration will be under the Denmark Flag.
With Danish environmental regulations for fast ferries among some of the most stringent in the world, Austal’s design is required to comply with legislation covering environmental noise, wave-wash and exhaust emissions.
The vessel is on track to commence sea trials in March, with delivery scheduled to take place in May 2011.
By Julian Lee (Bloomberg) Moscow’s use of the tankers sanctioned for their involvement in the Russian oil trade is accelerating, with close to one-third of the blacklisted vessels back at work....
By Gautam Naik (Bloomberg) After fearing the worst from Hurricane Milton, investors in catastrophe bonds appear to have sustained losses well below those predicted as recently as Wednesday. Estimates that had...
Oct 8 (Reuters) – Former Amazon.com Consumer CEO Dave Clark said on Tuesday his new software supply chain management startup Auger has raised over $100 million in private equity funding from Oak HC/FT and...
October 8, 2024
Total Views: 1006
Why Join the gCaptain Club?
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.