Austal Vietnam has delivered Hull 424, the Maria Galanta Express, to Oceanoi Limited of Mauritius, according to the company's release.
The 41 metre high-speed catamaran ferry will be operated by Société de Gestion et de Transport Maritime (SGTM) in the Comoros Islands, situated off the southeastern coast of Africa.
Austal was awarded the A$15.5 million (US$10.7 million) contract to design and construct the vessel in January 2020 and construction commenced at the company’s Vietnam shipyard in Vung Tau in March 2020.
Austal Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg said the delivery was a significant milestone in the company’s newest shipyard.
The Austal ‘Passenger Express 41’ catamaran features a length overall (LOA) of 41.2 metres, beam of 10.9 metres and draft of 2.0 metres. Over two decks, the vessel can accommodate 400 passengers and mixed cargo of up to 20 tonnes, loaded via two ramps.
Fitted with Austal’s renowned Motion Control System (including active interceptors and T-foils), four MTU-12V2000 M72 engines, and four KaMeWa 56A3 waterjets, the new catamaran achieved 31.9 knots at 100% Maximum Continuous Rating (MCR) during sea trials and has a range of approximately 370 nautical miles.
Established in 2004, SGTM is The Comoros’ leading ferry company, operating three passenger ships and two freight transport ships between the islands of Mayotte, Anjouan and Great Comoros, carrying more than 100,000 passengers annually. With the delivery of Maria Galanta Express, SGTM is now operating two Austal built vessels, joining Marine View (Austal Hull 58) acquired from Japan in 2013.
This ASX announcement has been approved and authorised for release by Patrick Gregg, Austal Limited’s Chief Executive Officer.