British operator signs contract for a new ferry
Rendering of the new ferry type (Source: Isle of Man Steam Packet Company)
A new purpose-built RoPax vessel for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company will be built at South Korean yard Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. The order includes one option for a repeat vessel, the Ulsan-based yard said.
The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company states the contract follows a week-long visit to South Korea by senior personnel from the British company, during which they visited the shipyard where the vessel will be built, viewed a recently completed ship to assess the standard of work and discussed technical and commercial considerations with Hyundai Mipo executives.
Work on physically constructing a replacement for the conventional ferry currently operated, Ben-my-Chree, is now due to start in mid-2021 after detailed plans are finalised and agreed between builder and buyer. Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Chief Executive Mark Woodward said: “For some time we have been conducting detailed analysis as we develop plans for major investment in our fleet.”
The size of the planned new ship was not given, but the new vessel is planned to be be slightly larger than the Ben-my-Chree, which carries 630 passengers and 275 cars on sailings between the Isle of Man and north England.
The process to order the ship began last autumn when the ferry company commissioned a tender, during which a large number of shipyards around the world had expressed an interest in building the vessel. The ferry company said it will be bringing high levels of on-board facilities and improved freight capability. It is intended that the Ben-my-Chree will be retained as the company’s third vessel.
