New ships to modernise link to Indian islands
Illustration of the larger design with a capacity of 1,200 passengers (Source: Knud E. Hansen)
The larger of the two designs will provide a modern link between the Indian mainland and the two groups of islands – which lie east of the subcontinent at the southeastern edge of the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean – with a capacity of 1,200 passengers and 1,000 tonnes of mixed cargo. The vessels have a length of about 157m, breadth of 21.3m and service speed of 18 knots.
The smaller vessels – about 100m long, 17.5m wide and with a service speed of 16 knots – will be employed in interisland service and are designed to carry 500 passengers and 150 tonnes of mixed cargo. Both designs will replace existing vessels with modern ones meeting the latest standards of comfort and safety, KEH says.
The design process has been shared by the two companies, with KEH responsible for the initial concept of both vessel types. For the smaller vessel, SEDS has further developed the design through the contract and basic design stages. Throughout this process KEH has been responsible for conducting design reviews and providing additional ideas and inspiration. For the larger vessel, the roles are reversed for the contract design, with KEH producing the design and receiving critical review and evaluation from SEDS. For the basic design, the roles will again be reversed, with SEDS taking on the primary design tasks.
Established in 2014, SEDS India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bahamas-based Smart Engineering & Design Solutions Ltd.
