New Brittany Ferries vessel announced:

[Will]

I have just received the following press release from a Scandinavian shipbuilding group.

Aker Yards and Brittany Ferries signed LOI for new type of ferry

Aker Yards and the French company Brittany Ferries have signed a Letter of Intent for the building of a roro-passenger ferry worth approximately 105-110 million euro for delivery in October 2008 at the latest.

The present orderbook of Aker Yards includes another order from Brittany Ferries, i.e. a trailer ropax worth EUR 80 million to be delivered in autumn 2007. The option agreement signed for a similar vessel on the 2nd of August 2005 has been transferred to this LOI for a different type of vessel.

The Letter of Intent signed now would give some 700 man years of work for the yard.

 

The ferry is designed to carry passengers, private cars and road cargo vehicles between France and the United Kingdom at a speed of 23 knots. The 167 m long and 26.8 m wide vessel would have space for 1,500 passengers and 1.1 kilometres of vehicle deck space.

The new type of ferry has been developed in a close co-operation between the Owner and the yard.

 

"This has been a record year for Aker Yards in Finland: we have published contracts for 12 newbuildings and 7 conversions, worth 1.8 billion euro and meaning 11,800 man years of work for the yard", says Yrjö Julin, President responsible for Aker Yards Cruise & Ferries business area.

 

"The orderbook of Aker Yards' Finnish yards amounting to EUR 3.3. billion consists of 16 newbuildings, including three of the world's largest cruise vessels.

To-day, on the threshold of Christmas, we are especially pleased to announce one more Letter of Intent together with Brittany Ferries!"

 

This looks like the Bretagne 2 (i.e. the Val de Loire/Pont l'Abbé replacement), which you heard about first on this forum.