Norway: BLRT Grupp Delivers Gas-powered Ferry to Fjord1

In Western Norway, the gas-powered ferry Edøyfjord delivered by BLRT Grupp started trafficking the route.

The new ferry will serve the Edøya-Sandvika route to Smøla in Nordmøre County. It was built by joint venture Fiskerstrand BLRT for the transport company Fjord1. The ship was designed by the other joint venture – Multi Maritime (Førde, Norway), the ferry’s hull and pre-outfitting works were manufactured at Western Baltija Shipbuilding in Klaipeda, Lithuania, and final outfitting, testing and finalizing was done by Fiskerstrand Verft AS in Ålesund, Norway.

“New ferry is another proof that our holding is able to build eco-friendly vessels – from design development and preparation of documentation to turn-key ship building,” emphasized the head of the board Fjodor Berman. “Market trends suggest that the future lies with such ferries. I hope that in the near future the necessary infrastructure will develop in Baltic States as well and we will be given an opportunity to build such ferry for Estonia as well,” he added.

The ferry has a total length of 66,4 a maximum width of 13,6 m and a capacity of 50 cars or 4 heavy goods vehicles in combination with passenger cars. The ferry holds 146 passengers including staff. The ferry is built according to Det Norske Veritas’s Class, with a gross tonnage of 1634. Furthermore, the ship has two Caterpillar motors each of which drives its Schottel azimuth thruster. This will give a service speed of 11-12 knots. The new ferry is built for use in open sea, in the EU trade area C.

Fjord1 is one of the largest transport corporations in Norway, with ferry operation, passenger and express boat operation, bus operation and tourism as its core business areas.

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World Maritime News Staff, January 30, 2012; Image: BLRT