New cargo and passenger ship Luna Seaways
DFDS is vigorously renewing its fleet in the Baltic Sea
The new vessel Luna Seaways, the leading European ferry operator DFDS, started operating on the Klaipeda-Karlshamn route on April 29. The vessel, which was completed in China, is the second new vessel that DFDS has brought to the Baltic Sea this year.
The 230-meter-long Luna Seaways can accommodate 600 passengers and 4,500 line meters, making it the largest cargo and passenger ship in the Baltic Sea, alongside the sister ship DFDS Aura Seaways, which was completed a few months earlier.
According to Peeter Ojasaar, the head of DFDS Estonia, the Baltic Sea routes are extremely important for the company from Denmark. "We are proud to have been able to bring two modern and environmentally friendly ships to the Baltics in just a few months, which will help us increase the level of service in the Swedish corridor and significantly reduce the company's carbon footprint," said Ojasaar.
DFDS has set a target of reducing carbon emissions by 45 percent by 2030. Renewal of the fleet is an important step towards this goal. The CO2 footprint of new ships is one-fifth smaller than that of ships that have served the route so far.
Two new vessels have increased DFDS's capacity in the Lithuanian-Swedish direction by a third. "Feedback on the Aura Seaways ship, which started operating on the Klaipeda-Karlshamn route in January, has been very positive. The new ships are significantly quieter and more spacious, offering more comfortable cabins and leisure facilities on board. Both Luna Seaways and Aura Seaways have three restaurants and bars, a shop, a children's playground and comfortable recreation areas, ”said Peeter Ojasaar.
A nerve-wracking journey home
Luna Seaways completed the Chinese shipyard in February this year. The journey to the home port of Klaipeda took 47 days. Only one of the four main engines was used to save 13,000 nautical miles to save fuel and the environment.
According to the ship's captain, Mindaugas Nosavicius from Lithuania, the most nervous part of the way home was the passage of the Gulf of Adel between Yemen and Somalia, which is notorious for pirate attacks. "We were accompanied by a special armed guard on this section. We covered the sides of the open decks with barbed wire, all the doors were constantly locked, most of the lights were turned off and the shutters were covered with opaque material so that the ship would emit as little light as possible in the dark, ”Nosavicius described.
The ship arrived in Klaipeda without major problems and started sailing on the Lithuanian-Swedish route last Friday, April 29. Luna Seaways is operated by a 53-member crew. DFDS ships leave Lithuania for Sweden every night. The journey takes 11 hours.
DFDS serves more than 20 routes in Europe, 9 of which are also for regular passengers. The company's ships carry more than 5 million passengers a year. In the Baltic Sea, DFDS has 7 vessels in 4 directions: Paldiski-Kapellskär and Klaipeda-Kiel, Klaipeda-Karlshamn, Klaipeda-Koge / Fredericia.
Luna Seaways
Year of construction: 2021
Length: 230 meters
Width: 32 meters
Freight capacity: 4500 line meters
Capacity: 600
Unladen weight: 12 750 tonnes
Pictures of the ship: https://flic.kr/ps/3YQHtG
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