With Norway’s largest ferry company, based in Florø, now ordering three new electric ferries, there’s no need to travel far in order to find leading participants within their respective fields. The ferries are designed by Multi Maritime in Førde and are going to be constructed at Havyard Ship Technology in Leirvik, in the municipality of Hyllestad.
Work and construction of these ferries start immediately, and the first ferry is due to be delivered in the middle of May 2018. The other two are due to be delivered towards the end of 2018. Hull constructions are taking place elsewhere, and the first hull will be ready for outfitting in Leirvik at the end of 2017. The contract has a value of close to NOK 500 million.
“It is very pleasing that Fjord1 has chosen Havyard Ship Technology for this particular order. The contract proves that we are competitive in particularly strong competition with Norwegian and foreign shipyards. We hope and believe that this is simply the start of a long and solid relation to Fjord1”, says Sales Director of Havyard Ship Technology, Lars Conradi Andersen.
Adaptability
To Havyard, these contracts are important, and further show that the steps they have taken in reorganising and adapting the shipyard to new challenges, are bearing fruit. Over the last years the shipyard has entered a whole new range of new segments such as fish, renewable energy and this time transport.
“To us, these contracts are great news as they secure good employment for 2018. Our excellent workforce has shown great adaptability, and it is particularly enjoyable to break this news right before Christmas. The market is improving, and we hope to be able to break more good news in the time ahead”, says Conradi Andersen.
Fjord1 going Green
Fjord1 continues to set standards by their Green focus in the ferry industry. Until 2020 Fjord1 is going Green in nine different ferry services by including the latest in environmentally friendly technology. Two of the ferries to be constructed at Havyard Ship Technology will be operated in the service between Brekstad-Valset. Fjord1 takes charge of operations on that route in 2019, whereas one ferry will operate the service between Husavik and Sandvikvåg in the county of Hordaland.
“We are especially pleased by entering into a cooperation with a Norwegian shipyard that is competitive through innovation, quality and price. It is particularly enjoyable that the shipyard is located in the Sogn and Fjordane county. The contract proves that several participants in the county would like to take a world-leading role within the Green change of the maritime industry”, says André Høyset, acting CEO of Fjord1.
Leading position
The ferries are designed and developed by Multi Maritime, a company that has delivered nearly 120 of its own ship designs, of which 60 are car and passenger ferries. The new ferries will become number 17, 18 and 19 in the range of MM designs heading for Fjord1. CEO Gjermund Johannessen of Multi Maritime, is happy that their cooperation with Fjord1 is going to continue, and he is looking forward to commence on this most recent Havyard cooperation.
“We greatly appreciate the fact that Fjord1 has chosen our recently developed and leading technical solutions for the three environmentally friendly ferries that are going to be constructed. With the contract for these three newbuilds, we confirm our position as the certain leader of environmentally friendly and energy efficient ferry designs. Several years of firm focus on environmental technology has resulted in the current situation where we have more than 10 all-electric and rechargeable hybrid ferries being constructed at a variety of shipyards. We are especially proud of our home county in this context, as we now cooperate with both a shipowner and a shipyard from Sogn and Fjordane”, Johannessen says.
Source: Havyard