Finnish shipbuilder Rauma Marine Constructions has awarded a contract to compatriot energy services firm Enersense International to work on two LNG-powered ferries.
Tasmanian shipping company TT-Line ordered these two ferries last year. Rauma already started construction on the first out of two of these vessels which will feature Wartsila’s dual-fuel engines.
Now Enersense Works, a unit of Enersense, and Rauma have signed a new agreement on outfitting work for the two ships.
The signed contract covers the “most demanding technical areas” of the ferries ordered by TT-Line Company, for example steel and piping installations in the main engine room and LNG tank area, as well as insulation work, according to a statement by Enersense.
Enersense said the employment impact of the agreement is more than 150 person-years for its smart works business, and it strengthens Enersense’s order backlog until the end of 2024.
The firm did not provide the price tag of the deal.
Both of the LNG-powered vessels are specifically designed to sail on a challenging route across the Bass Strait between Geelong, Victoria, and Devonport, Tasmania, RMC previously said.
The RoPax ferries will accommodate 1,800 passengers each and will have an approximate gross tonnage of 48,000.
Moreover, the duo will replace the Spirit of Tasmania I and II, both built in Finland in 1998.
Rauma expects to deliver the first vessel to TT-Line (Spirit of Tasmania) in late 2023 and the second in late 2024.