OSK-Ship Tech stood by the side of Samsø Rederi when they developed and built their first ferry eight years ago – and was also involved from the start, when the optimum high-speed ferry design for the new Aarhus route was to be found in the marked.
The following article, written by me, was first published in Danish in the leading Danish maritime trade media Søfart (www.soefart.dk) May 2021. This is a translated and edited version.
The berths’ location at the front of the huge new culture house Dokk1 right in the centre of Aarhus, Denmark’s second-largest city, is central to the feasibility studies behind Samsø Municipality’s decision to invest in a newly built high-speed ferry, explains Kristian Carøe Lind.
He is a partner in the internationally known naval architect consultant company OSK-Ship Tech and Manager in the company’s west branch located a few hundred meters from Dokk1, which beside being a public library and a venue for various cultural activities also house Denmark’s largest underground parking garage and a light rail station.
From OSK’s Aarhus office, he has been a consultant for Samsø Rederi in the process that has led to the municipal-owned shipping company’s early May introduction of the high-speed passenger and bicycle ferry LILLEØRE between Sælvig (on the island Samsø) and Aarhus.
“The location is crucial for the Samsings (the residents on the island) to go directly from the ferry to the light rail line to get around Aarhus – or just walk the few hundred meters into the city centre. Location also plays a role the other way around. It is so visible and easily accessible that it will attract day tourists from the Aarhus area to Samsø – many certainly with their bikes,” Kristian Carøe Lind explains.
He also advised Samsø Rederi when the island municipality was to build the LNG-powered ferry SAMSØ, which later was renamed PRINSESSE ISABELLA, to the Sælvig – Hou route eight years ago.
The route has since had significantly higher traffic numbers than with the previous generation of ferries. Therefore, in the high season, the Hou route may soon sail close to its capacity limit.
Some facts
# The main premise behind Samsø Municipality’s investment in LILLEØRE is that the high-speed ferry route, with a crossing time of 60 minutes, between Samsø and Denmark’s second largest city over time will increase permanent settlement on the island.
# Many Danish rural areas, including the smaller islands, are experiencing that the average age among the residents is rising, as young people do not return to their birth areas when they have finished their educations in the big cities.
# Prior to the list of requirements Samsø Rederi made research trips to Red Funnels routes between the Isle of Wright and Southampton as well as to London to study commuter traffic on the Thames.
LILLEØRE can therefor constitute a life extension of the current setup on the Hou route by the fact that the direct Aarhus route is a more obvious choice for passengers traveling without a car. In other words, LILLEØRE can relieve PRINSESSE ISABELLA in the long term.
“If you look at it from a green point of view, there must be 3.5 people in a car via the Hou route into Aarhus, before it is greener per person to use PRINSESSE ISABELLA instead of LILLEØRE. There are on average 2.7 people in the cars that are transferred with PRINSESSE ISABELLA,” Kristian Carøe Lind explains.
OSK-Ship Tech was also responsible for the EU tender for the construction of LILLEØRE.
“Contrary to many of the projects we otherwise do, the naval architect part did not take up much space in this project – it was more about project management. The shipping company had done a lot of research itself and could therefore come up with a list of requirements and a sketch of how they had imagined the passenger concept arranged,” Kristian Carøe Lind explains.
“There ended up being four pre-qualified shipyards for the tender, but that the winning shipyard, Chinese Afai Southern Shipyard, was among the bidders has a slightly special history behind it,” says Kristian Carøe Lind, and explains:
“I was present at Guangzhou Shipyard when OSK built the new ferries for Gotlandsbolaget (VISBORG and THJELVAR). The funnels were built in aluminum by a local subcontractor – and it was some of the best aluminum work I had seen. It turned out to be Afai, who I then contacted and encouraged to bid on the tender for Samsø.”
“They ended up winning. In addition to their particularly good aluminum work, they had also built several vessels for Incat Crowther, and Incat Crowther’s design template is well-suited for the vessel we were looking for. At the same time, their involvement was probably also decisive for us daring to connect the yard with the project – and then there was the advantage that Incat Crowther’s design office is only one time zone away in London,” he explains.
LILLEØRE is based on a unique 36-meter version of a standard design from Incat Crowther. According to Kristian Carøe Lind, Samsø’s new high-speed ferry thus has two almost-sisters, a 35- and a 38-meter version. The propulsion is diesel-mechanical with two drivelines and fixed propellers.
“The use of waterjets only begins to make sense when the cruising speed must be higher than 32-33 knots. LILLEØRE’s service speed is 25 -26 knots, while 31 knots was logged during the sea trail, Kristian Carøe Lind explains.
LILLEØRE is also equipped with a Humphree ride control system, which both increases comfort on board and at the same time also increases fuel efficiency slightly when the sea rises. However, it rarely does so in the waters between Sælvig and Aarhus, where the significant wave height usually stays below one meter.
LILLEØRE, which is classified according to the High Speed Code, may sail at up to 2.5 meters significant wave height, but only for 1.5 meters if the service speed is to be maintained.
Facts – LILLEØRE
Call sign: OYMQ, Sælvig
Type: Catamaran, High Speed passenger craft
Owner: The Municipality of Samsø
Operator: Samsø Rederi
Shipyard: Afai Southern Shipyard Ltd. China
Delivered: January 2021
Design: Incat Crowther, Australia
Classification: Bureau Veritas
Notation: I Hull Mach, High speed craft – CAT A, sea area 2, GREEN PASSPORT EU, 1(Ch 16 Q2, Wi)
Length o.a.: 36.3 m
Length: b.p.: 34.8 m
Beam mld: 10 m
Gross Tonnage: 338
Netto Tonnage: 122
Deadweight: 105 tons
Passengers: 296
Bicycles: 75
Main machinery: 2 X MAN D2862LE463, each 1,029 kW.
Max speed: 31 knots
Service speed: 26 knots
Contract price: 37,000,000 DKK
Total building cost incl. port facilities: 41,000,000 DKK
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