Finland-based shipbuilders Rauma Marine Constructions Oy (RMC) has announced that it has recently signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with the Finnish-Swedish passenger ferry operator Kvarken Link AB for a new cargo and passenger ferry set to operate between the Finnish city of Vaasa and the Swedish city of Umeå. The new vessel will be equipped with a hybrid gas-diesel dual fuel and battery propulsion system.
Formed in 2014, Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) is a Finnish-owned shipbuilder that specialises in building and servicing multipurpose icebreakers, car and passenger ferries and naval vessels. Worth approximately EUR 120 million, the new vessel Letter of Intent (LoI) will have a positive impact on employment and is the third vessel LoI for RMC in recent months.
According to Kvarken Link, the decision is based upon the result of a public procurement process initiated in June 2018. Kvarken Link is owned by the city of Umeå and the city of Vaasa, both of whom serve as guarantors of the financing.
The formal construction agreement is to be signed in early 2019, with the design and construction work set to start immediately thereafter. Delivery is scheduled for April 2021
RMC won the public international tender thanks to our expert knowledge and technology. RMC specialises in the design and construction of car and passenger ferries. We are therefore both pleased and proud to have showcased our competence in this area. We are also very grateful for the confidence that the customer has shown in RMC, having commissioned this ferry from us, said Jyrki Heinimaa, CEO of RMC.
Gas dual fuel – battery hybrid vessel
The ferry to be commissioned by Kvarken Link will accommodate some 800 passengers and with two cargo decks, it will have a freight capacity of 1 500 lane metres for trucks. The vessel will have an ice class of 1A Super, in order to guarantee that the vessel is able to navigate in the challenging ice conditions of the Kvarken region as independently as possible.
The vessel will be designed to have a low environmental impact and be powered by hybrid gas-diesel dual fuel engine with SCR and battery solution. The main source of fuel will be liquefied natural gas (LNG) although the vessel will also be able to utilise liquefied biogas (LBG) as this becomes available, for example, from biogas produced in Vaasa.
