Clipper Point, the first of Seatruck Ferries’ eight newbuildings, has entered service. A further three vessels in this 120 unit class of freight ro-ros will be delivered during the course of this year by the Spanish builder Astilleros de Huelva.
Fleet Expansion
Clipper Point will be joined by another newbuilding, the Clipper Pace on the Warrenpoint-Heysham service across the Irish Sea. Two more newbuildings, Clipper Pennant and Clipper Panorama, will be deployed on the Dublin-Liverpool route. Seatruck acquired this route last September from the former operator, Celtic Link.
The commissioning and entry into service of Clipper Point follows Seatruck’s announcement in early March of an order for a further four new freight ferries. This order was placed with the German shipbuilder FSG (Flensburger Schiffbau Gesellschaft). These 21 kt. ships will have four decks offering 151 trailer spaces in a length (o/a) of just 142 m. These newbuildings will join the rapidly expanding Seatruck fleet in the November 2011-June 2012 period.
Over recent months freight-only specialists Seatruck Ferries have also acquired four secondhand vessels – the 121 m, 65 unit capacity sisterships Arrow, Triumph, Shield and Challenge.
Picture: The new freight ro-ro ferry Clipper Point.
