MV Rusadir explained

MV Rusadir is a roll on/roll off passenger vessel launched in 2018 by Flensburger Schiffbau Gesellschaft in Germany. She was to have been operated by Brittany Ferries as Honfleur, but they cancelled the contract in 2020 after extended delays. The incomplete vessel was then taken to Fosen Yard at Trondheim, Norway for completion. In March 2023 she was renamed Rusadir for a six-month charter to Baleària of Spain.

History

Brittany Ferries ordered the vessel, originally named Honfleur, in June 2017 from German shipbuilder Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) at a cost of about €200 million.[1] [2] Construction began in March 2018 when the first steel was cut, followed by the laying of the keel several months later.[3] [4] She was launched in December 2018,[5] and following fitting out was scheduled to be delivered in May 2019 before entering service the following winter season.[4] Once in service, she was to sail between Portsmouth, England and Caen, France.

The completion of construction and fitting out of Honfleur was delayed by several years,[6] and she was still unfinished, with up to a year estimated to remain until delivery, when Brittany Ferries canceled their order for the ship in June 2020.[7] According to FSG, the incomplete vessel was under the shipyard's ownership at the time, leaving her fate unclear.[7] Subsequently it was reported that, as part of the restructuring of the shipyard, the unfinished ferry would be acquired by the former owner of FSG, Siem Industries, possibly for completion elsewhere.[8] [9] On 25 October 2020, the former Honfleur (now simply known as FSG 774 after the cancellation) was towed out of the FSG shipyard by two tugs, the Svitzer Thor and Carlo Martello. She was taken to the Fosen Yard near Trondheim, Norway, which was tasked with finishing the cancelled vessel, after which she was to either be chartered or sold on to another operator.[10] Upon completion, she was laid up in Poland awaiting an operator.[11]

In late February 2023, the Spanish ferry company Baleària chartered the ship for six months, with options to purchase, for their Malaga-Melilla route, and on 1 March she was renamed Rusadir, the Phoenician name for Melilla.[12] [13] [14] In May, Rusadir commenced service.[15]

Design

Rusadir measures 42,400 GT, with a length of 187.4m (614.8feet), a beam of 31m (102feet), and a draft of 6.6m (21.7feet).[4] She can carry up to 1,680 passengers, with 261 individual cabins, and has a 2,600 lane meter freight deck, with a capacity of 130 freight trucks, or 550 passenger cars and 64 trucks.[4] The ship is fitted with integrated electric propulsion, with four liquefied natural gas engines, with an output of about 30000kW, driving electrical generators that power two propellers, giving her a 22kn service speed.[2] [4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Brittany Ferries confirms order for new LNG passenger ferry . Cruise & Ferry . 28 June 2017 . 19 September 2018.
  2. Web site: LNG breakthrough on cross-Channel market. Tinsley . Davis . The Motorship . 30 October 2018 . 4 November 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20200815152515/https://www.motorship.com/news101/lng/lng-breakthrough-on-cross-channel-market . 15 August 2020.
  3. Web site: Steel-cutting ceremony for Brittany Ferries' Honfleur . Baird Maritime . 13 March 2018 . 19 September 2018.
  4. Web site: Honfleur Passenger and Vehicle Ferry . Ship Technology . 19 September 2018.
  5. Web site: Video: Brittany Ferries Launches Its 1st LNG-Powered Ferry . Offshore Energy . 19 December 2018 . 5 July 2020.
  6. Web site: Brittany Ferries : La livraison du Honfleur repoussée à 2021. 17 April 2020.
  7. Web site: Todd . Tom . Another cancellation blow for German yard . The Motorship . 22 June 2020 . 5 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200801155633/https://www.motorship.com/news101/ships-and-shipyards/another-cancellation-blow-for-german-yard . 1 August 2020.
  8. News: Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG): Transfer Company and Honfleur Sold . 18 September 2020 . Ferry Shipping News . 30 July 2020.
  9. News: Todd . Tom . New rescue package for troubled German yard . 18 September 2020 . The Motor Ship . 4 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200825124348/https://www.motorship.com/news101/ships-and-shipyards/new-rescue-package-for-troubled-german-yard . 25 August 2020.
  10. Web site: Cancelled 'Honfleur' leaves Flensburg for Norway [Updated]. 26 October 2020.
  11. Web site: L'Ex-Honfleur est en Pologne | Mer et Marine . 30 May 2022 .
  12. News: Rusadir sailed from Nauta to the wide waters . 12 May 2023 . MarinePoland.com . 12 April 2023.
  13. Web site: Rusadir, Passenger/Ro-Ro Cargo Ship . 2023-03-01 . www.vesselfinder.com.
  14. Web site: Lorenzo . Juan Carlos Diaz . Balearia posicionará el ferry “Honfleur” en la línea de Melilla . 2023-03-01 . Puente de Mando – Juan Carlos Diaz . es.
  15. News: Balearia presenta el ferry Rusadir, que unirá Málaga y Melilla con motores eléctricos . 12 May 2023 . La Opinión de Málaga . 2 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230512231403/https://www.laopiniondemalaga.es/malaga/2023/05/02/ferry-malaga-melilla-balearia-nuevo-rusadir-86791850.html . 12 May 2023 . es.

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