BMT Nigel Gee secures LNG ferries contract

BMT will be responsible for concept through to production design.
Both vessels, which will be built by the Triyard Holdings subsidiary Strategic Marine in Vung Tau, Vietnam, will serve the Friesland Islands connecting Harlingen, Terschelling and Vlieland in the Netherlands and enter service in April 2018.  The exterior and interior styling is being done by Netherlands-based Vripack. The vessels are single-fuel LNG, with both main engines and generators running off the LNG supply. They will have significantly lower emissions than conventional steel and diesel-powered vessels, with at least a 30% reduction in CO₂ and 100% reduction in NOx/SOx, according to BMT.
"To develop these vessels with such low emissions to operate in the Wadensee is a fantastic opportunity," commented Ed Dudson, technical director of BMT. "The vessels will be built in aluminium to minimise weight, thereby further reducing emissions. They will be the first passenger vessels to have the new MTU 4000 series gas engine installed. Bow thrusters will be run from stored power, recharged from shore power. At 70m long with a 17m beam, the vessels will also have a very low operating draft of 2.5m to facilitate operating in the Wadensee, an area of particularly shallow water. Manoeuvrability will be excellent with the use of azimuthing thrusters.”
With the capacity to accommodate over 60 cars and 600 passengers, the vessels will be designed to interface with existing port facilities and have wind generators and solar panels to reinforce their environmentally friendly credentials, BMT says.