Austal Vietnam Delivers New Ferry to Mauritius

Shipbuilding group Austal announced its Austal Vietnam arm has delivered the new catamaran ferry Maria Galanta Express to Oceanoi Limited of Mauritius. The 41-meter high-speed 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.

The Austal Passenger Express 41 catamaran features a length overall (LOA) of 41.2 meters, beam of 10.9 meters and draft of 2 meters. 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 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.

(Photo: Austal)

Austal CEO Paddy Gregg said the delivery was a significant milestone in the company’s newest shipyard: “This new ship for SGTM, is the second vessel we have delivered out of the Vietnam shipyard and highlights the tremendous productivity and efficiency of the local team, who have effectively delivered two vessels in two years.”

“It’s also very pleasing to see another customized variant of our popular, high-speed catamaran ferry design being delivered to yet another new customer,” Gregg added. “Austal has now delivered over 80 vessels in this key, 40- to 50-meter catamaran ferry market since the early 1990s, and we continue to receive great interest in our proven designs.”

Established in 2004, The Comoros ferry company SGTM operates 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, including the Marine View acquired from Japan in 2013.

(Photo: Austal)