Dutch shipyard Royal Niestern Sander has started building a new aft for passenger ferry that will be converted to run on LNG for German ferry operator AG Ems.
The two companies signed a deal to convert the 1986-built Münsterland passenger ferry in July last year.
Besides building a brand new aft, the works include adding dual-fuel engines, LNG storage tanks, installations, pipelines, and other systems.
The European Regional Development Fund of the European Union is backing the conversion project.
This is not the first LNG-powered ferry for AG Ems. The German company has been operating two such vessels since 2015, namely Ostfriesland and Helgoland.
Ostfriesland, a sister-ship of Münsterland, is Europe’s first converted LNG ferry while Helgoland is Germany’s first newbuild LNG-powered ferry.
AG Ems will put the Münsterland back into service between the Dutch Eemshaven to the German Wadden Sea island Borkum in the start of summer-schedule at Easter 2021.