New Irish Ferries ship

Vic_08 · 03-01-2018 2:39pm

Tabnabs wrote: »

Never accept any "facts" about the marine industry from the Irish Times (or RTE). How hard is it to check Wikipedia...? :mad:

Add to that the fact about WB Yeats replacing Ulysees is also rather unlikely.

WB Yeats is already open for bookings for Dublin - Cherbourg from 12 July onwards for summer 18.

From what has been written on more reliable sources the plan for 2018 at least is to use her on Dublin - France in the peak summer season and Dublin - Holyhead the rest of the year with Epsilon running Dublin - Cherbourg full time from October and Oscar Wilde laid up meaning no Rosslare - France sailings after the peak period.

devnull · 03-01-2018 2:45pm

Here's the official announcement:
http://otp.investis.com/clients/uk/icg1/rns/regulatory-story.aspx?cid=500&newsid=962216

The link gives full details on capacity but hard to reproduce by copy-paste.

Irish Continental Group plc invests €165.2 million to build a new cruise ferry for Dublin - Holyhead route

Irish Continental Group plc ("ICG") has entered into an agreement, with the German company Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesselschaft & Co.KG ("FSG"), whereby FSG has agreed to build a cruise ferry for ICG at a contract price of €165.2 million. Upon completion, it will be the largest cruise ferry in the world in terms of vehicle capacity.

The cruise ferry will accommodate 1,800 passengers and crew, with capacity for 5,610 freight lane metres, which provides the capability to carry 330 freight units per sailing. Overall, it will effectively be a 50% increase in peak freight capacity compared to the MV Ulysses.

The Agreement between ICG and FSG provides that the cruise ferry is scheduled for delivery before Mid-2020. Twenty percent of the contract price will be paid in instalments during the construction period. The balance of 80% will be paid on delivery. ICG intend to utilise credit facilities to finance the cruise ferry. The pre-delivery instalment payments to FSG will be protected by means of bank guarantees.

This cruise ferry will be designed and built to the highest standards of cruise shipping, and equipped with efficiency, comfort and capacity in mind. Emissions scrubber technology (included in the above price) and ballast water systems will meet current and known future environmental regulations and will deliver optimal fuel consumption while minimising related costs. The cruise ferry will be powered by four main engines delivering 33,600 KW of power which will ensure a high degree of service reliability equal to the MV Ulysses which is currently the most reliable ship to ever operate on the Irish Sea.

The cruise ferry is being built specifically for Irish Ferries Dublin - Holyhead services. It is expected to replace the schedule of the MV Ulysses, which in turn will replace the currently chartered vessel MV Epsilon in the fleet. This will allow for the deployment of the W.B. Yeats (arriving Mid 2018) full-time on the direct Ireland - France route alongside the MV Oscar Wilde. The cruise ferry will also adhere to Ice Class specification which allows for a wide geographic area of operation.

Freight capacity will be provided over five decks. Uniquely, the vessel has been designed for three tier freight bow loading to allow for efficient loading/unloading and quick turnaround times. Passenger facilities will be spread over three decks. In addition to a superb choice of bars, restaurants (to include both á la carte and self-service options), special provision has been made for premium Club Class passengers, with a dedicated lounge featuring private access direct from the vehicle decks. A choice of state-of -the-art entertainment options and cinemas, dedicated facilities for freight drivers, as well as many retail outlets will ensure that all passengers will be comfortable and engaged throughout their journey.

This new cruise ferry provides Irish Ferries with a significant increase in both its freight & tourism carrying capacity on the fast-growing Dublin - Holyhead route.

"This investment underpins the confidence the Group has in the markets in which we operate. Alongside the recent investment in the MV W.B. Yeats, it brings our total investment to €315m for these two vessels designed for our operations on the Irish Sea. The construction of a cruise ferry of this size will offer both additional capacity and an enhanced experience for both our tourism and freight customers. This infrastructural investment enhances "the bridge" to the UK & Continental Europe that is a vital part of the continued success of Ireland's open economy."

Vic_08 · 03-01-2018 3:08pm

Ah, now it makes sense. This is the option for the second new build that they are now confirming as on order for 2020.

A lot of new vessls due for Irish Sea routes in the next few years with these and 2 or 3 new Stena ships likely as well.

Dr Brown · 03-01-2018 4:13pm

I don't see how they can call it a "cruise ferry" when its a car ferry.

Tabnabs · 03-01-2018 4:58pm

Dr Brown wrote: »

I don't see how they can call it a "cruise ferry" when its a car ferry.

And makes most of its money from freight.

PauloMN · 03-01-2018 5:07pm

Is "cruise ferry" not just a modern day expression for a conventional ferry i.e. not a fast ferry? Just a marketing term I guess.

Cookie_Monster · 04-01-2018 12:40am

Tabnabs wrote: »

Never accept any "facts" about the marine industry from the Irish Times (or RTE). How hard is it to check Wikipedia...? :mad:

well it has a much higher truck capacity, what's total vehicle capacity?

it's lane meterage is much higher at 5,610 v 4,101

Atlantic Dawn · 04-01-2018 1:04am

Decent documentary on Ulysses that was on Discovery Channel before, a big challenge with the design was keeping the draft of the ship low enough to be able to dock in Dublin yet making it double the size of Isle Of Inishmore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyCzDc-LVRE

Tabnabs · 04-01-2018 11:08am

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

well it has a much higher truck capacity, what's total vehicle capacity?

it's lane meterage is much higher at 5,610 v 4,101

Entirely my mistake, I thought the article referred to the new IF ship, not the newest, new one.

Bigus · 04-01-2018 11:47am

Thanks Athlantic, for that Ulysses documentary link , well worth a look

Atlantic Dawn · 04-01-2018 2:22pm

Bigus wrote: »

Thanks Athlantic, for that Ulysses documentary link , well worth a look

Yes it was interesting at the end the captain stressing the importance as an island nation that ships like that should remain Irish flagged and crewed, shortly after the company registered most of their ships in Cyprus and recrewed them, not the captains decision.

Fann Linn · 04-01-2018 2:27pm

PauloMN wrote: »

Is "cruise ferry" not just a modern day expression for a conventional ferry i.e. not a fast ferry? Just a marketing term I guess.

I'd say it changed about 20 years ago when ferries became cruise ships, pursers became 'onboard services managers' and passengers became guests.

All just marketing along with barmen in waist coats and dickie bows.

knucklehead6 · 05-01-2018 11:49am

Fann Linn wrote: »

I'd say it changed about 20 years ago when ferries became cruise ships, pursers became 'onboard services managers' and passengers became guests.

All just marketing along with barmen in waist coats and dickie bows.

I would've thought it was an effort to differentiate between the likes of the HHS/Jonathon Swift Fast ferries and the slower ships, without calling them the Slow Boat.

Tow · 05-01-2018 2:37pm

I read this and thought 'What is a Cruise Ferry?'. Wikipedia came up with this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruiseferry

Dublin (Dun Laoghaire) to Holyhead day trip on the 'mail boat', the height of sophistication for a family day trip in the 70-80's. Brings back memories...

Pat Dunne · 06-01-2018 7:28pm

Tow wrote: »

I read this and thought 'What is a Cruise Ferry?'. Wikipedia came up with this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruiseferry

Dublin (Dun Laoghaire) to Holyhead day trip on the 'mail boat', the height of sophistication for a family day trip in the 70-80's. Brings back memories...

And the train the Llandudno happy days.

L1011 · 06-01-2018 11:02pm

Tabnabs wrote: »

Never accept any "facts" about the marine industry from the Irish Times (or RTE). How hard is it to check Wikipedia...? :mad:

The statement is that it has a higher vehicle capacity. This is true - it has significantly more lane space for vehicles. Checking Wikipedia is not a good idea in the media, really...

It has less surplus capacity for foot passengers because there are effectively no foot passengers anymore. Hence the total passenger capacity is down.

http://www.icg.ie/documents/2018/2018-01-02-Company-Announcement.pdf

Irish Steve · 07-01-2018 4:11pm

There's very little difference in the passenger capacity, (<100) between them, and while there are fewer foot passengers as such from Rail now, there are more on coaches that travel with the ferry. The second large ferry does however represent a significant increase in passenger capacity, as the Epsilon that will be replaced does not carry any foot passengers at all.

Part of the reason for the changes are the significant cost of rail travel in the UK, but an equal factor is that the section from Holyhead to Chester and Crewe is a slow speed line when compared to other routes, so the journey time to a lot of areas is lengthy, and the road connections to Holyhead are massively improved over what they used to be, so it's more realistic to use road connections than it used to be. The rail operators have also contributed to their own decline by no longer providing convenient connection times that tie in with the ferry crossings. Then there are the issues of poorly advertised services on the Irish side for foot passengers, there are buses to the main stations, but that's all.

The other very significant factor of course is the easy availability of cheap flights from Ryanair and others, if you have a choice of a 12 hour total journey time by ferry and road/rail, or a 40 minute flight that operates several times a day, and often for a lot less total cost, that will be an influencing factor.

That said, there are people who don't see the times as a problem, my (elderly) parents much prefer the train and ferry option to get to Dublin, simply because the airports are so much hassle in comparison to getting on a train.

Most of the above is moot however, the major justification for the new ship is freight, and that is the major earner for Irish Ferries, although there are still significant numbers of cars and other non commercial vehicles using the service.

In the very long term, it would be nice to dream of a high speed rail tunnel linking Ireland with the UK and onward to Europe, but the costs, technical difficulties and political reluctance means that it won't happen in my lifetime, and probably not my children's lifetime, unless there is a massive move away from using fossil fuels for shipping and moving freight over long distances.

Tabnabs · 22-01-2018 5:43pm

W.B. Yeats (hull) has been launched

The rest of her is on the way too.

Atlantic Dawn · 22-01-2018 9:27pm

All fur coat and no knickers...registered in bloody Limassol too...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9SE0CxuMxg

Bigus · 22-01-2018 9:33pm

I was wondering how they were going to make the deadline and also how the whole thing was going to fit in the shipbuilders webcam shed.

Thanks for the pics above, Tabnabs makes great sense now .

L1011 · 30-01-2018 2:09pm

Swift sold and to be replaced with the Westpac Express following a civilian fitout. Can't figure out if that's an increase or reduction in capacity or if it's being done for other reasons

Tabnabs · 30-01-2018 3:03pm

Irish Continental Group (ICG) announced today they are to sell their high-speed craft 'Jonathan Swift' which has served the Dublin-Holyhead for almost two decades to a Spanish operator.

ICG the Dublin based group (parent company of Irish Ferries) has entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) regarding the sell of the craft with Balearia Eurolineas Maritimas S.A.

In the statement from ICG, the agreed consideration of €15.5 million less brokers commission is payable in cash on delivery less a 10% deposit to be held in escrow. The HSC is to be delivered to the Mediterranean ferry company by the end of April this year.

Jonathan Swift which was commissioned by and delivered to ICG in 1999 has exclusively operated on the company's service between Dublin and Holyhead.

Afloat adds the HSC which is marketed as the 'Dublin Swift' is as previously reported undergoing routine drydocking in the UK (see piece focusing on Isle of Inishmore). According to the Irish Ferries website, Jonathan Swift is scheduled to return to service next week on Monday 5 February.

A replacement HSC adds ICG will come from their fleet by the 2001 built HSC 'Westpac Express' (acquired in 2016) which was recently redelivered following a period of twenty months on external charter. The HSC is currently undergoing a refurbishment programme to bring her up to Irish Ferries passenger service standards.

The Jonathan Swift as delivered to the group in 1999 at a cost of €38.8m. The disposal will generate a book profit for ICG of approximately €14.0m.

The proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

https://afloat.ie/port-news/ferry-news/item/38324-irish-continental-group-sale-of-jonathan-swift?mc_cid=f164f3620d&mc_eid=cad3920467

Vic_08 · 30-01-2018 4:32pm

L1011 wrote: »

Swift sold and to be replaced with the Westpac Express following a civilian fitout. Can't figure out if that's an increase or reduction in capacity or if it's being done for other reasons

Well it is a larger and newer ferry but they have already put on record that the fast ferry service will be seasonal from this year on with the second large conventional ferry taking up the slack in the off season.

I think that it was primarily a good financial deal for IF with the added bonus of replacing an ageing ship that has been having technical issues more frequently. They paid $13.25m for Westpac Express and got nearly $6m back in less than 2 years charter fees from the US Navy and now have sold Swift for $19.5m.

Although WE is supposedly a bit rudown internally, that is being sorted now and crucially she is newer and has a lot less miles on her engines as well as being a bigger ship. The only downside is that it has a lower top speed and I wouldn't be surprised if the journey time is extended by 10-15mns as a result.

L1011 · 30-01-2018 9:29pm

The Swift hasn't run at full tilt for years, so assuming its economic closer to its lower top speed its likely it'll be pretty similar.

Schwanz · 01-02-2018 8:47pm

Not sure if any of ye have seen this but apologies if so

FunkyDa2 · 17-02-2018 12:04am

Some info on WB Yeats...

http://www.polandatsea.com/marine-projects-has-delivered-a-large-superstructure-to-the-german-fsg-yard-there-will-be-more/

Wally Runs · 31-10-2018 12:44pm

Finally, it has moved from the pier. Only four months late. Will it have gone for testing or is there more to do?

http://31.209.185.102/view/viewer_index.shtml?id=324630

Tabnabs · 31-10-2018 1:59pm

Sea trials to make sure she doesn't vibrate herself to pieces, stops and turns as expected and how fast she can actually go. Then to repair any issues they find.

Music Box · 12-11-2018 6:58pm

Will the WB Years replace the Oscar Wilde on the Rosslare France route. When is she due in service

roundymac · 13-11-2018 10:17am

No, AFAIK she will operate from Dublin, with a few sailings to Hollyhead as well, same as the Epsilon.

New Irish Ferries ship

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