Measuring 200 m in length, the ships have a speed of
about 22 knots and a capacity of 4,000 lane metres,
corresponding to about 275 trailers, each 13.6 m in
length.These vital statistics place them among the largest
shortsea Ro-Ro ships on the North European market. The newbuildings are expected to enter service on the
route between Esbjerg and Imming-ham, England
(BritanniaBridge) and the route between Gothenburg and
Ghent (Euro-Bridge). Times of sailing, sailing frequency,
as well as duration of voyage have been considerably
improved. Environmental considerations are one of the reasons that
DFDS Tor Line selected a European shipyard. With an
extremely efficient oil consumption relative to their high
speed, the ships emit a low degree of pollution per
transported unit. The strategic fleet renewal programme will strengthen
DFDS' competitive ability. The contracting of the three
large Ro-Ro ships is an important initiative in the
strategy to reduce the average age of the Ro-Ro fleet. The
objective is to gradually reduce the average fleet age to
about ten years, and only own about 50% of the fleet. The
remaining number of ships is to be chartered on short- or
long-term contracts. The parties have agreed not to disclose the contract
price. The contracting will have no impact on the result of
DFDS for 2001. Yours sincerely,
DFDS A/S Ole Frie
Presiding Director
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