seatec - Finnish marine technology review 1/2011 | Page 32

Merima Oy provided the interior decoration for the entire ferry. The total delivery encompassed 7,000 square meters. 47,600 GT vessel is 213 meters long and CM (Construction Monitoring) which are GREEN ALL AROUND has a capacity of 3,746 lane meters (lm) usually used for tankers, RoRo and Pas- According to Uusitalo, a lot of attention for trailers, cars and other cargo. In addi- sanger vessels only,” Uusitalo explains. has been paid to environmentally friendly tion to space for approximately 180 freight First Ferry with ‘Safe Return to Port’ and energy-efficient solutions. Looking at trucks and 195 passenger cars, the vessel Even more significantly, Spirit of Brit- fuel consumption, Spirit of Britain uses as can accommodate 2,000 passengers. Put ain is also the first car-passenger ferry in the much fuel as its predecessor in the Eng- together, the two ferries carry a price tag world to meet IMO’s Safe Return to Port lish Channel – but Britain is 1.5 times big- of € 360 million. requirements. Ferries were not required to ger than the previous ferry. STX Rauma shipyard has a proud be fully Safe Return to Port compatible at “In addition, the four auxiliary en- tradition of designing and building state- the time when the project started, but P&O gines have been equipped with Com- of-the-art car-passenger ferries. Uusita- and STX seized the opportunity to become mon Rail technology and certified to Tier lo explains that the hull of the Spirit of a pioneer in ferry safety. 2 class.” In essence, this means that the Britain has been optimised for the vessel’s “For our designers, the decision to ferry produces no more than 8.98 g/kWh specific route to ensure maximum per- realise two Safe Return to Port ferries of nitrogen dioxide while operating in har- formance and good manoeuvring char- posed a significant challenge,” says Uusi- bour areas. acteristics. The latest and most advanced talo. Other green features include electric- technology (such as 3D modelling tools) In the end, however, the Spirit of Brit- ity consumption reductions in air condi- were applied in the design and construc- ain was deemed to be in compliance of tioning and an improved recycling system tion of this vessel. Safe Return to Port system in case of fire in the restaurants. “This was the first time the hull classi- – and also the requirements of the Green Looking back at the construction, fication for a RoPax vessel was realised via Passport of classification society Lloyd’s Uusitalo points out that weather had its SDA (Structural Design Assessment) and Register. role to play in the project as winter hit the 30 seatec 1/2011