ICG’s Ferry Newbuild Project Delayed

The delivery date for Irish Continental Group’s (ICG) new ropax ferry W.B. Yeats has been pushed back due to delays at the shipyard, German shipbuilder Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) said.

The vessel, which is currently in the final stages of construction at FSG, was originally scheduled to be delivered in May 2018, but delays in the delivery of interior components for public areas as well as the installation of electrical system in the hull and deckhouse have forced the builder to push back the entry into service date to September 2018.

FSG said it has made additional funds available to pay second level suppliers directly in order to overcome delays in the delivery of interior components.

“All the key functions of our shipyard and our key suppliers are on the ship, and meet daily to ensure direct and efficient communication,” said Rüdiger Fuchs, CEO of FSG. “Our team is fully focused on completing this first of two large passenger ferries which ICG has ordered from FSG.”

The shipbuilding contract was signed in May 2016, with the first steel cutting in April 2017, and keel laying in September 2017. The hull was floated on January 19, 2018, and the passenger blocks were subsequently fitted on the hull using a floating crane and then welded into place.

W.B. Yeats
194.8 meters length
31.6 meters breadth
54,975 gross tons
33,600 kilowatts main engine power
1,885 passengers and crew
455 passenger cabins plus 60 crew cabins
2.8 kilometers of lane
Fitted with scrubbers to clean ship emissions