Danish ferry operator Smyril Line has contracted with the CIMC Raffles shipyard in China to build two new identical ro-ro ships, measuring 190m in length and having 3,300 lane metres for trailers.
The new ships will join Smyril Line’s current network, and are planned to start operation in 2026. The ships are designed for optimal year-round seaworthiness in the North Atlantic. They are being designed in close cooperation with naval architects Knud E Hansen to ensure that the ships are built for the route between Europe, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland. The ships will be environmentally friendly, meeting all international emission standards and will have significantly lower emissions per transported ton compared with the existing fleet. The new ships will be equipped with a battery system with the possibility for shore power, and will be prepared to sail on e-methanol, which the operator considers to be the best future choice for green energy.
Jens Meinhard Rasmussen, CEO Smyril Line said: “Now is the time to set ourselves new and bigger goals towards reducing emissions in the North Atlantic. The company’s main goal is to ensure safe and reliable transportation of both passengers and cargo, and to connect the periphery of the North Atlantic with the rest of the world. With the new ships, we emphasise future proofing and leading the company towards a greener energy solution and lead the way for Smyril Line towards the goals for decarbonisation in our fleet renewal, supporting the green transition of the shipping industry. We will also transport much larger quantities of cargo with less energy consumption than we do now. The energy saving will be at least 60%. This is an important step for us to achieve our goals towards net-zero emissions by 2050, while we can offer our customers an even better service. We have been operating routes in the North Atlantic since 1982. This is not just one of the world’s longest ro-ro and ro-pax routes, but probably also the one with the most challenging sailing conditions. We know from experience that sailing on our route places great demands on both ship and crew, and we have therefore designed the ships with this in mind.”
Image: Smyril Line ro-ro (source: Knud E Hansen)
