• 2020 May 13 14:51

    Western Baltija Shipbuilding to construct new ferry for Smiltynės Perkėla

    A subsidiary of the WSY Group has won the open international tender

    The Western Shipyard (WSY) Group is about to implement an extraordinary project – Western Baltija Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of the WSY Group, has won the open international tender of Smiltynės Perkėla, AB for the construction of a new passenger/cargo ferry, the Port of Klaipeda says in a press release.

    The contract for the construction of the new ferry was signed on 8 May. The transaction was approved and signed by Mr Mindaugas Čiakas, General Director of Smiltynės Perkėla, and Mr Vitalij Frolov, Director of Western Baltija Shipbuilding. The Heads of both companies were delighted to commence the construction of the new ferry and further cooperation and partnership.

    M.Čiakas noted that the purpose of Smiltynės Perkėla is to ensure an uninterrupted, smooth and safe communication between the mainland Klaipėda and Smiltynė. More than 2 million people make use of this service, as well as 700 thousand vehicles are carried via the Curonian Lagoon every year.

    ‘The continuously growing flow of customers shows that the activities of Smiltynės Perkėla are vital and necessary. To increase our technical potential and improve the quality of services provided, we, on the approval of the shareholders and the Board of the company, conducted an open international tender for the construction of a new ferry. It is very gratifying that the vessel will be built by a Klaipėda-based company that employs a large number of the city residents, and I have no doubt that many of them use the services of our company. We hope that the new ferry will be modern, feature high-level technological solutions, serve for a long time and delight our customers,’ stated M. Čiakas.

    V. Frolov noted that, despite the fact that Western Baltija Shipbuilding has constructed about 30 different ferries throughout its history, this project is not going to be just interesting but also very special.

    ‘It is both a challenge and a source of pride, because we will always be able to see the result of our work and evaluate it by using the ferry ourselves. We are building the ferry for our city, its residents and guests, which obliges us to make an even greater effort and strive to achieve the best result. The vessel to be built is not a serial product: it is to be constructed according to the project specifically developed for Smiltynės Perkėla, taking into account the vision of the company and the needs of passengers. Therefore, the work on this project will be very exciting. We hope to be able to meet all the expectations of both the customer and future passengers,’ emphasised V. Frolov.

    A universal passenger/cargo ferry, 60 metres long and 14 metres wide will be built for Smiltynės Perkėla. The vessel will be able to carry up to 1,000 passengers, or at least 40 passenger cars plus 600 passengers, or eight cargo vehicles with a total weight of up to 44 tons each. The hull of the ferry will be constructed of steel and the superstructure of aluminium used in the marine industry. The vessel will have four loading / unloading ramps and diesel propulsion. The design work will be undertaken by Western Baltic Engineering, another subsidiary of WSY Group, known and valued in the market for modern and innovative solutions. The new ferry has to be built and ready for operation no later than fourteen months after the contract start date. It is planned that the ferry will operate from both the New Ferry Terminal and the Old Ferry Terminal.

    Mr Arnoldas Šileika, CEO of WSY Group, commented, ‘Shipbuilding remains a priority for our group of companies and our goal is to be the shipbuilders of the future. We are an international group of companies and the majority of our customers are foreign enterprises. However, we are always happy to work for the market in our own country - in this particular case, to work on a turnkey shipbuilding project. Local orders not only help the company to preserve jobs and wages, especially when the economic situation all around the world is not favourable, but also to contribute to a stable collection of taxes for the country's budget and to the growth of the country’s gross domestic product. We are pleased that by implementing this project we will contribute to the growth of the country’s economy, as well as our personal growth at the same time.’

    85 percent of the funds required for the construction of the new ferry will be provided by OP Corporate Bank Plc, Lithuanian branch, a Finnish bank with whom Smiltynės Perkėla has signed a project finance agreement. It is hoped that this project of the company will not be the only one of interest to large international banks.

    ‘The construction of the universal passenger/cargo ferry is just a part of the strategic plans of Smiltynės Perkėla, AB aimed at improving the quality of its carriage services. In the near future, we plan to conduct an international open tender for the construction of another passenger ferry, to reconstruct the quays in the mainland Klaipėda and Smiltynė, and to install new ferry loading/unloading ramps, as well as information and video transmission stands integrated into the company’s IT system. Next year, the construction of a modern passenger service and administrative building is scheduled to begin, and the reconstruction of the area of the New Ferry Terminal is planned to be completed. The anticipated total investment for these projects is over 20 million euros’, shared the plans Mr Valdemaras Vaičekauskas, Chairman of the Board of Smiltynės Perkėla.


2024 November 2

18:06 Singapore’s first fully electric cargo vessel wins Green Ship Award at SRS Forum
17:20 VTTI looks to buy into LNG terminals in Asia
16:48 Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding signs contracts for 12 large container ships in the past 10 days
16:32 CHIMBUSCO secures its first LNG refueling service in Europe
15:46 SLB OneSubsea awarded subsea boosting contract for bp’s Kaskida project in Gulf of Mexico
15:24 Wilson Sons to start construction of three new eco-friendly tugboats in 2025
14:57 Rem Offshore holds keel laying ceremony for REM Pioneer
12:30 World's first conversion of large container ship to run on methanol successfully completed
11:52 New offshore platform taps into potential of heavy-oil reserves in China
11:24 HRDD completes desulphurization tower system conversion for a PCTC
09:48 TOWT launches its first cargo sailing ship in Le Havre

2024 November 1

18:00 Marlink to deploy Sealink NextGen hybrid solution on 26 tankers for Transpetro
17:38 Austal Australia delivers 8th Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boat to Royal Australian Navy
17:23 Acteon and Applied Fiber enter MoU to collaborate on mooring solutions
16:54 KOTUG International and Maritalia S.A. secure major marine services contract for bp’s Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas project
16:24 BW LPG takes delivery of vessel BW Chinook from Avance Gas
15:44 HD Hyundai may nearly double shipbuilding capacity in Vietnam
15:24 Samsung Heavy Industries secures $390 mln contract for four Suezmax tankers
14:36 EU imposes duties on unfairly subsidised electric vehicles from China
14:23 Port of Montreal workers at two terminals start new strike
13:41 Chinese ports container volume rises 7.7 % from January to September of 2024
13:22 MOL, COSCO Co-host 6th Shanghai International LNG Shipping Forum
12:43 Global schedule reliability drops to 51.4% in September 2024
12:22 GTT secures technical services contract with Maran Tankers for eight LNG Dual-Fuel Suezmax vessels
11:45 MSC inks up $2.1bn container ship at the reborn shipyard Rongsheng Heavy Industries
11:28 China's first 'smart factory' for offshore oil, gas equipment fully operational
10:43 Yanmar completes land-based demonstration testing of a hydrogen engine for power generation in coastal vessels
10:23 Samsung Heavy wins W358 bln LNG ship order in Asia
09:58 EU greenhouse gas emissions fell by over 8% in 2023

2024 October 31

18:00 MAN receives multiple orders for MAN B&W G95ME-LGIM Mk 10.5 methanol engines to power a series of VLCV
17:23 The Marechal Duque de Caxias platform ship starts producing in the pre-salt layer
17:06 IWS Seawalker CSOV makes it 1000 ship designs from Kongsberg Maritime
16:45 “K” Line Wind Service and Japan Marine United sign agreement for Phase 2 of NEDO’s Green Innovation Fund Project
16:04 Wärtsilä introduces its innovative NextDF feature for the Wärtsilä 25DF dual-fuel engine
15:45 MOL plans to change charter contract for vessels related to Russia business
15:44 MABUX: Bunker price trends in the world's four largest hubs, Oct 8 - Nov 1, 2024
15:23 HHLA raises expectations for fiscal year 2024
14:59 Major fire extinguished at UK nuclear submarine yard
14:16 AD Ports Group and Somali Ministry of Fisheries & Blue Economy sign MoU for maritime sector development
13:44 Maersk reports Q3 results
12:43 UECC orders four advanced multi-fuel battery hybrid pure car and truck carriers from China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Nanjing
11:39 Japanese сonsortium produces design concept for eco-friendly VLCC
11:12 TMC Compressors bags contract to supply four LNG carriers
10:46 Panama Canal operating costs down 5% in FY2024
09:29 HIF Global and Antarctica21 promote sustainable tourism with e-Fuels

2024 October 30

18:00 East Java Multipurpose Terminal partners with Sinarmas LDA Usaha Pelabuhan
17:22 Container traffic at Iranian ports up 5% in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year
17:06 CIMC SOE delivers second 7,600 cbm LNG bunkering vessel to Seaspan Energy
16:42 Klaveness Combination Carriers makes first move into wind with bound4blue eSAIL system on CABU III newbuild
16:23 Transport workers' strike in Argentina to affect port operations
15:59 South Korea's seaport container cargo up 3.5 pct in Q3
15:46 Stena Line marks significant milestones in build of NewMax ships, Stena Futura and Stena Connecta
14:55 DNV and LR grant AiP to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for ammonia duel-fuel large container vessel
14:45 Jiaxing Port adds a new sea-river intermodal operation area
13:32 Maersk signs long-term methanol sourcing deal
13:08 MOL and Pyxis sign Collaboration Agreement for development and market expansion of electric vessels in Singapore and Japan
12:40 AD Ports Group and the General Department of Vietnam Customs sign MoU
12:21 TE H2, CIP, and A.P. Møller Capital Partner for a large-scale project in the Kingdom of Morocco
11:40 ClassNK issues AiP for Autonomous Navigation Assistance System developed by Samsung Heavy Industries
11:20 MacGregor launches Carbon Calculator
10:55 Russian seaports in Q3, 2024: Infographics and Analytics
10:30 World's first ammonia-fuel dual-fuel bulk carrier begins construction
10:09 Erik Thun launches the next-generation Lake Vanern Max vessel
09:03 SCHOTTEL receives an order to supply azimuth thrusters for four new escort tugs for Saltchuk Marine

2024 October 29

18:00 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announces selections for nearly $3 bln of investments in Clean Ports
17:34 Asyaport becomes first Turkish port to provide shore power to container ships
17:00 Port of Los Angeles awarded $412 million grant from U.S. EPA for zero-emission transformation
16:42 Oil spill occurred during bunkering operations at the Port of Singapore
16:10 World’s first electric hydrofoil ferry line takes off in Stockholm
15:46 Wallenius Wilhelmsen signs five-year, $766 million deal