Sister to ‘Bajamar Express’ to be launched later this month
Austal Philippines has announced that it has completed the installation of four Kongsberg (formerly Rolls-Royce) KaMeWa 125 S3 water jets on BAÑADEROS EXPRESS. The ship is the second of two vessels ordered by Fred. Olsen Express during October 2017 at a cost of AUD190 million. The first of these ships was BAJAMAR EXPRESS. She is already in service having been delivered last July by Austal Australia.
Both BAJAMAR EXPRESS and BAÑADEROS EXPRESS are built from Aluminium to Austal’s ‘Auto Express 118’ design. The design is a further development of that used for Fred. Olsen Express’s 2005-built BENCHIJIGUA EXPRESS. Condor Ferries’ CONDOR LIBERATION, which links Poole to Jersey and Guernsey, is also based on a similar design.
Although usually referred to as a trimaran design, ‘Auto Express 118’ is technically a stabilised monohull. Most of the buoyancy is actually provided by the central hull.
The Auto Express 118 design is 118 meters in length. 1,100 passengers and 276 cars can be accommodated at a cruising speed of up to 38 knots.
According to Austal Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg, completing the installation of the water jets on BAÑADEROS EXPRESS is significant given the continuing challenges around shipbuilding during the COVID-19 pandemic in The Philippines:
“The successful installation of the waterjets on Bañaderos Express is a great demonstration of the commitment, skill and resilience of the Austal Philippines shipbuilding team,” Mr Gregg said.
“While the shipyard continues to meet all COVID-19 workplace requirements, the team have managed to safely and efficiently install some of the largest components to be installed on the vessel’,
Source: https://www.austal.com/news/austal-philippines-reaches-major-milestone-construction-118-metre-trimaran-fred-olsen-express
Other deliveries
Austal Philippines is also presently preparing for the imminent delivery of FJORD FSTR, a 109 metre long passenger and vehicle catamaran, to Fjord Line.
The company has also confirmed that the construction of Molslijnen’s EXPRESS 5, a 115m metre long vehicle and passenger catamaran, is well advanced. EXPRESS 5 will be the largest (by volume) vessel ever constructed by the Austal group.
BAÑADEROS EXPRESS is expected to be launched later this month. Once delivered she will sail on Fred. Olsen Express’ Santa Cruz, Teneriffe and Agaete, Gran Canaria routes in the Canary Islands.
