Following a tight deadline, Damen delivered a road ferry called Kunta Kinteh to a client in Gambia this week.
Operating from Banjul, the Gambian capital, to Barra, across the mouth of the Gambia River estuary, the passenger and vehicle ferry is designed with a very flexible layout where it can be reconfigured from passenger and vehicle transportation to passenger only, carrying a maximum of 2,000 people. This function makes it ideal to facilitate passenger transport during local celebration days.
The ferry was built entirely in the Netherlands to a very tight deadline, with the hull constructed in just 70 days at their subsidiary Niron Staal in Amsterdam. The outfitting was then carried out at the shipyards in Gorinchem.
Fuel efficient and maintenance friendly
Peter Post, the sales manager for Damen’s Africa division says: ‘This special ferry has been designed in close cooperation with the client and this has resulted in a safe, fuel efficient and maintenance friendly vessel built to the latest standards in shipbuilding. The ferry is built under BV class. We are also providing an extensive training package and a long-term maintenance agreement. The vessel will sail under the Gambian flag.’
The ferry was transported via a heavy lift vessel from the Netherlands and arrived safely over a month ahead of schedule, enabling the client to commence operations before the end of Ramadan and in time for associated festivities.
