Incat Tasmania Wins Super Ferry Order from Mols-Linien

Incat Tasmania has secured a contract for the construction, delivery and long term charter of a large fast vehicle ferry for Mols-Linien A/S, the fourth vessel the Australian shipbuilder will construct for the Danish ferry operator.  

The Hobart shipyard will commence work on construction of the wave piercing catamaran immediately, with delivery scheduled for the first quarter of 2017.

“A large ship order to a repeat customer is proof positive of the quality and reliability of the vessels our team build in Tasmania. This is the third Incat ship that Mols Linien have added to their fleet in a period of just four years,” Incat Chairman Robert Clifford said.

The newbuild super ferry will be named KatExpress 3, and it will be an upgraded and more customer-friendly version of near sister-ship vessels KatExpress 1 and KatExpress 2, Incat says.

The new fast ferry can take up to 1,000 tonnes of cargo, equivalent to up to 1,000 passengers and 417 cars. Like KatExpress 1 and KatExpress 2, the new fast ferry will carry trucks, campervans, motorcycles and bicycles.

KatExpress 3 is expected to commence operation on the route between Aarhus and Odden and the route between Ebeltoft and Odden in late May 2017. The newbuilding is likely to replace the company’s smallest ferry Max Mols, an Incat 91-metre vessel built in 1997, which will allow the company to transfer up to an additional 400,000 cars a year.

“We have been working on the project for some time, and although the design team still have some finer details to complete, construction will commence immediately,” Incat Tasmania Managing Director Simon Carter said.

“The 250 production staff are currently building four passenger vessels for Manly Fast Ferries, with another 6 boat order for Sydney Ferries to commence in 2016. This new large ship order will secure work for an expanded workforce for at least a further two years.”