The German ferry company Wyker Dampfschiffs-Reederei Föhr-Amrum GmbH, (W.D.R) has been operating an inter island ferry service since 1885. The islands are located in the Wadden Sea, a shallow area of the North Sea off the German and Dutch coasts.
Caption: The MVSchleswig-Holstein undergoing trials in the Baltic Sea in October 2011.
Image Credit: Wyker Dampfschiffs-Reederei Föhr-Amrum GmbH
This month WDR took delivery of the latest addition to it fleet the 3,300 GT MV Schleswig-Holstein. A sister ship to the Uthlande, in service since last year, Schleswig-Holstein is the fourth vessel bearing this name, the predecessor retiring after 41 years of service. The ship was built by Neptun Werft shipyard in Rostock, Germany, part of the Meyer Neptun Group in ten months construction time at a reported cost of $22.7 million US (17.5 million Euro).
The new ferry has an LOA of 249 ft (76 m), beam of 51.8 ft(15.8 m) and the exceptionally shallow draft, fully laden, of 5.7 ft (1.75 m). This allows the ferry to operate in all tide states in the shallow Wadden Sea areaof operation. The hull is double ended with symmetrical bow and stern arrangements allowing the ferry to operate in either direction without having to waste time turning every time entering and leaving harbor.
Caption: This model of the ferry shows the location of the Voith-Schneider
vertical propeller drives and how the shallow draft is achieved.
Image Credit: Wyker Dampfschiffs-Reederei Föhr-Amrum GmbH
The propulsion system features four Voith-Schneider 16 R5 EC/120-1 (2 x 2) vertical propeller drives, two at each end, giving a speed of 12 kn with outstanding manoevrability. Caterpillar engines are used throughout, providing propulsion power from four 3508C-DITA-SCAC diesels each of 758kW. Two C9 DITA gensets are rated at 200kWe at 50Hz for the on-board electrical power supply.
The ferry has a carrying capacity of 350 tons, 75 automobiles and up to 1200 passengers in the summer months, reducing to 650 passengers in winter.
Caption: Closeup of one of the four Voith-Schneider vertical propeller drives.
Image Credit: Wyker Dampfschiffs-Reederei Föhr-Amrum GmbH