Austal has been awarded a €83.65 million (US$93 million) contract for the design and construction of a new 115-metre high-speed catamaran for Molslinjen of Denmark.
A follow-up order to the 109-metre high-speed catamaran Express 4 (pictured) which was delivered to Molslinjen in January 2019, the new vessel will be named Express 5 and will be the largest ferry (by volume) to be built by Austal. It will be fitted with LNG-compatible medium speed engines that could potentially be upgraded to run entirely on LNG in future.
Express 5 will have capacity for 1,610 passengers, space for 450 cars or 617 lane metres for trucks plus 257 cars, and a service speed close to 37 knots.
Construction will commence at Austal's Philippine shipyard in the third quarter of 2020 while delivery will be in the first quarter of 2022.