Ships of the Year

SHIPS OF THE YEAR
New concept on the Skagerrak
Color Line’s SuperSpeed-class introduces
a new transport concept in the
ferry traffic between Norway and
Denmark.
The SuperSpeed 1 was delivered to Color
Line at Aker Yards (now STX Europe)
Rauma shipyard on February 27, 2008, and
is now sailing on Color Line’s service Kristiansand–Hirtshals.
The sister vessel Super-
Speed 2 joined the fleet on June 5, 2008, and
is trading between Larvik and Hirtshals.
With a service speed of 27 knots the
SuperSpeed 1 has reduced the crossing
time between Kristiansand and Hirtshals
from 4,5 hours to 3 hours 15 minutes. On
the somewhat longer route Larvik–Hirtshals
the crossing time for SuperSpeed 2 is
3 hours 45 minutes.
Access in two levels
The cargo capacity is 2,036 lane metres distributed
on two decks with access in two
levels in the bow and in the stern. Between
main deck and upper deck there is also a
hoistable tilting ramp. The aft part of the
upper trailer deck is open, making the vessels
suitable for shipments of hazardous
cargo as well. On the upper deck there is
a hoistable car deck for private cars with
a total of 1,035 lane metres. The cargo
handling equipment has been supplied by
MacGregor.
The public areas on board include a couple
of large open spaces, surrounded by
shops and seats. Such a central area is the
two decks high Centrum.
All restaurants and bars are situated on
deck 7 and deck 8. The large tax-free market
is situated in the forward part of deck 7.
On deck 9 there are 54 cabins for drivers to
provide the possibility for a rest during the
sea crossing. The same deck also houses the
compartments for the crew, containing 71
cabins.
High speed design
The hull is designed for high speed in combination
with good sea-keeping qualities.
The ship is equipped with fin stabilizers.
The SuperSpeed 1 and the SuperSpeed 2
fulfil the new probabilistic damage stability
rules as stipulated in SOLAS 2009. The
comfort of the passengers regarding vibrations
and noise is amazingly low despite
the high speed and powerful machinery.
After sea trials the vessels were upgraded by
Det Norske Veritas from comfort class 2 to
the highest comfort class 1.
For propulsion there are four ninecylinder
Wärtsilä 46 main engines with a
combined maximum continuous power
SUPERSPEED 1 & 2
Type: Car/passenger ferries
Built by Aker Yards, Rauma, Finland, for
Color Line Transport AS, Kristiansand,
Norway. Newbuilding No 1359 & 1360.
Delivered on February 27 & June 5, 2008.
IMO no 9374519 & 9378682.
Class: Det Norske Veritas +1A1 ICE 1B,
Carferry A, SSC, E0, MCDK, PWDK, TMON,
Comf-V(2), VIBR, NAUT-OC, CLEAN, F-M.
Loa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212.8 m
Lbp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195.3 m
Beam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.8 m
Draught, design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.55 m
Depth (deck 3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.4 m
Gross tonnage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34,231
Net tonnage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,300
DWT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,525
Passengers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,928
Cabins, drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Cabins, crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Trailer capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,036 m
Car capacity, hoistable decks . . . . . . . 1,035 m
Machinery:
Main engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Wärtsilä 9L46C
Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4x9,600
at rpm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
Service speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 knots
of 38,400 kW. The main engines are coupled
to two shafts with CP propellers. The
cockpit bridge and its integrated navigation
system is delivered turn-key by Sperry
Marine.
pär-henrik sjöström
68 SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • DECEMBER 19, 2008
COLOR LINE