Visby Fast Facts
| Current Name: Visby | Previous Names: to be renamed Visborg once DFDS charter expires |
| Shipyard: Guangzhou Shipyard International Co. Ltd. (GSI) [CN], #91300004, 9130004 | IMO Number: 9223784 |
| Current Operator: DFDS | Current Route: Dunkerque [FR] - Rosslare [IE] |
| Length Overall: 176 | Beam: 25 |
| Passenger Capacity: 1500 | Vehicle Capacity: 1,800 lane metres of freight |
| Tonnage: 29,746 gt | Sister-ships: Drotten |
Design and Delivery
VISBY is one of two fast-Ro-Pax sister-ships built in China for Rederi AB Gotland for operation by its subsidiary Destination Gotland. She was delivered in January 2003 by Guangzhou Shipyard (GSI) to a design by Knud E. Hansen.
Both ships had been heavily delayed, with delivery having originally been contracted for 2001 delivery((Brogren, K. (Ed.). (2003, Nov). Visby. Cruise and Ferry Info, (Nov 2003).)). However, the contract price was just US$51.7m (SEK 550m) each, reportedly much lower than the cost for an equivalent vessel from a European yard. VISBY provided a valuable reference for GSI which at the time the shipyard was looking to enter the Northern European ferry market.
Due to concerns about the war in Iraq, VISBY took the longer route around Africa during her delivery voyage to Europe, rather than transiting the Suez Canal. This added around three weeks extra sailing time to Sweden((Brogren, K. (Ed.). (2003, Nov). Visby. Cruise and Ferry Info, (Nov 2003).)).
VISBY has one sister-ship, DROTTEN (ex GOTLAND). An option for two further ships of the same type was never exercised.
Swedish Service
The introduction of the two new ships reduced the crossing time between Visby and Nynäshamn to three hours and fifteen minutes. Previously it had taken five hours to cross between the ports((Brogren, K. (Ed.). (2003, Nov). Visby. Cruise and Ferry Info, (Nov 2003).)).
Until 2020, VISBY had only sailed on routes from the main town on Gotland, Visby, to the Swedish mainland ports of Oskarshamn and Nynashamn.
The VISBY and her sister DROTTEN were joined by two new-builds in 2019/2020. These were also built by GSI but are powered by LNG rather than Diesel. As the company only requires two large ferries much of the year and only three in summer, this opened up charter opportunities.
DFDS charter
During December 2020, DFDS confirmed previous rumours that they had chartered VISBY for their new “Brexit-buster” Dunkerque to Rosslare route. This followed an earlier announcement by Rederi AB Gotland that they had agreed to charter VISBY to an unnamed party for six months.
The choice of VISBY to operate a lengthy freight route surprised many. Destination Gotland only operates domestic Swedish routes, and so their bespoke ships have no need for large shops or extensive onboard services. The route had been started at short notice, and was announced just over a month before the UK fully left the European Union.
VISBY is supplied to DFDS with her Swedish deck and engine crew. However, onboard services crew are provided by DFDS. While designed to sail at 28.5 knots, the DFDS timetable allows 24 hours to complete the crossing between Ireland and France and so VISBY usually sails at a significantly slower speed.
Although designed to load through both bow and stern, in practice VISBY operates as a stern-only loading vessel on the Rosslare route due to ramp incompatibility((Hotloff, P. (Ed.). (2021, Jan). Ro-Ro News. Cruise and Ferry Info, (January 2021).)). As a result, all vehicles are required to either turn while onboard or reverse on to the ship.
First Crossing to Ireland
VISBY made her first crossing between Dunkerque and Rosslare on January 2, leaving then French port at 10pm local time with a reported load of 34 trucks and 14 unaccompanied trailers. She arrived at Rosslare for the first time on January 4.
The route is for freight-only and aimed at hauliers wishing to avoid additional paperwork to re-enter the European Union. The first month also benefited from non-U.K. living drivers on routes from Ireland not requiring a Covid-19 test. However, from 27 January a test was required for all Irish traffic entering France to.
Sisters Re-united
In late-January 2021, DROTTEN joined her sister on the Rosslare route in place of OPTIMA SEAWAYS. DROTTEN has initially been chartered for three months while VISBY is currently chartered until May.
Passenger facilities onboard Visby
VISBY is very much orientated towards a short high-density domestic passenger service unlike the typical Ireland – France Ro-Pax or cruise ferry. That said, she does have 92 passenger cabins available.
Onboard Facilities
- Food market restauarant
- Bistro
- Shop
- Three Children’s Play Area’s
- A variety of different lounge spaces providing a total of 1,500 seats
(Forward lounge, Economy lounge, Food Market lounge, and Aft lounge) - Outside “sun deck”
- Passenger Cabins
Visby / Drotten Deck Plans
Deck 7
The public accommodation of VISBY is on Deck 7. This is designed around her intended routes to Gotland which have a crossing time of around three hours, and consists mainly of lounge space and “airline” seating.
Deck 8
Deck 8 is the passenger cabin deck and also houses a conference room. Destination Gotland refers to the cabins as “Day Cabins“. The “sun deck” is also located on Deck 8. This includes a sheltered area aft for smokers.
The navigation bridge and crew accommodation are situated on Deck 9.
Interior Gallery
A small selection of photographs taken onboard VISBY by Gary Andrews during 2019 follows.
Visby Technical Data
| Visby | |
| IMO Number | 9223784((Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021].)) |
| Callsign | SGPH((Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021].)) |
| Class | SF1500 fast Ro-Pax ferry |
| Building Yard | Guangzhou Shipyard International Co. Ltd, Guangzhou, China |
| Hull Number | 9130004((Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021].)) |
| Naval Architect | Knud E. Hansen, Denmark((Brogren, K. (Ed.). (2003, Sept). Visby. DESIGNS 03, (Sept 2010).)) |
| Interior designer and architect | Claus P. Horn, Denmark((Brogren, K. (Ed.). (2003, Sept). Visby. DESIGNS 03, (Sept 2010).)) |
| Contract Date | 24.06.1999((Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021].)) |
| Keel Laid | 9130004((Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021].)) |
| Completion / Delivery | |
| Hull Number | 9130004 |
Certification | Lloyds Register of Shipping (on delivery) DNV-GL (since December 2006)((Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021].)) Type: 410 Car Ferry |
| Additional Class Notations | 1A1 Car ferry A BIS E0 Ice(1A) TMON((Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021].)) |
| Owner | Rederi AB Gotland((Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021].)) |
| Current Operator | DFDS |
| Vessel Management | Destination Gotland AB((Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021].)) |
| In service (Destination Gotland) | 28.03.2003 |
| Usual Route | Dunkerque [FR] - Rosslare [IE] |
| Length Overall | 195.8 m((Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021].)) |
| Length B.P. | 176.00 m((Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021].)) |
| Beam | 25.00 m((Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021].)) |
| Draught | 6.4 m((Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021].)) (design) |
Gross Tonnage | 29,746((Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021].)) |
| Deadweight | 4,730((Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021].)) |
| Number of Decks | 10 |
Machinery | 4 x Wärtsilä 12v 46c marine Diesel engines, each outputting 12,600 kw at 500rpm((Brogren, K. (Ed.). (2003, Sept). Visby. DESIGNS 03, (Sept 2010).)). Each pair of engines turns one of two KaMeWa propellers through a Flender reduction gearbox at 150 rpm 3 x Wärtsilä 9L20((Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021].)) auxiliary engines 2 x 1,800 kW shaft generators((Brogren, K. (Ed.). (2003, Sept). Visby. DESIGNS 03, (Sept 2010).)) 2 x Kamewa TT2400 cp((Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021].)) 1,700 kW transverse tunnel bow thrusters |
| Exhaust Gas Emissions Reduction | Siemens Sinox SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) (maximum emission of 2g NOx/kWH) (gotlandsbolaget.se. 2020. M/S Visby. [online] Available at: <https://gotlandsbolaget.se/en/publikationer/ms-visby/> [Accessed 27 January 2021].)) |
| Power (Max) | 50,400 kW (68,525 BHP)((Brogren, K. (Ed.). (2003, Sept). Visby. DESIGNS 03, (Sept 2003).)) |
| Design Speed | 28.5 knots((Brogren, K. (Ed.). (2003, Sept). Visby. DESIGNS 03, (Sept 2003).)) |
| Fuel Consumption | 200t/24h at design speed (730 cst)((Brogren, K. (Ed.). (2003, Sept). Visby. DESIGNS 03, (Sept 2003).)) |
| Stabilisers | Rolls-Royce fin stabilisers((Brogren, K. (Ed.). (2003, Sept). Visby. DESIGNS 03, (Sept 2003).)) |
| Access Equipment | TTS((Brogren, K. (Ed.). (2003, Sept). Visby. DESIGNS 03, (Sept 2003).)) |
Passenger Capacity | 1500 |
| Crew | – |
| Passenger Cabins | 80 x two-berth outside cabins((Brogren, K. (Ed.). (2003, Sept). Visby. DESIGNS 03, (Sept 2003).)) 39 x four-berth inside cabins((Brogren, K. (Ed.). (2003, Sept). Visby. DESIGNS 03, (Sept 2003).)) (The above figures are as-built. According to Destination Gotland, there are presently only 112 passenger cabins available. DFDS states that there are only 92 passenger cabins.) |
Vehicle capacity | 1,800 lane metres of freight or 520 passenger cars or a mix of both |
| Lane Metre Breakdown | Upper vehicle deck: 900 lane metres / 270 cars (4.85m free height)((Brogren, K. (Ed.). (2003, Sept). Visby. DESIGNS 03, (Sept 2003).)) Main vehicle deck: 900 lane metres / 250 cars (4.85m free height)((Brogren, K. (Ed.). (2003, Sept). Visby. DESIGNS 03, (Sept 2003).)) |
| Vehicle access | Access through the stern at a single level using fixed ramps to the upper vehicle deck Twin level bow access via a clamshell-type bow door and ramp to the main deck, and a side door leading to the upper deck. |
|
Flag state (port) | Sweden (VISBY) |
| As-built sister-ships | Drotten |
Further Reading
There is a detailed feature on VISBY in Shippax Guide 04 in which she is the theme vessel.
