On May 12th, after spending close to nine months in building, the brand new LNG ferry, which is to serve the purposes of Reederei Cassen Eils, was completed at the Fassmer-Werft dry dock and subsequently hit the water.
Now the vessel’s upper deck and parts of its interior are to be further worked on, after which the ferry’s LNG-drive will go through trials in the port and at open sea.
The MS Helgoland was designed and constructed by Fassmer. She is the very first passenger ferry of Germany to have a dual-fuel propulsion system.
She has a total length of 83 meters, a width of 12.6 meters and a respective draught of 3.6 meters. The vessel is able to accommodate 1,180 passengers.
She is going to operate between Cuxhaven and the Helgoland island in Germany with operations scheduled to being in the summer.
The total construction costs for the LNG-powered ferry have been estimated to be approximately EUR 31 million. The EU has appointed funds to the project in the amount of 4.17 million in accordance with its TEN-T programme.