HELSINKI, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Finnish ship design company Deltamarin announced on Tuesday that it has signed a contract with China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Weihai) Co., Ltd (CMJL) for cooperation on the design of Finnish shipping operator Finnlines' Superstar ro-pax vessel project.
The vessels will be Finnlines' flagships that accord with the highest technical and environmental standards. The length of the vessels will be 235 meters and the beam 33 meters. Their loading capacity will include 5,100 lane meters for rolling freight and about 1,200 passengers.
The two vessels will be constructed by CMJL in China with design and consultancy support provided by Deltamarin. They will operate on the Naantali-Langnas-Kapellskar route between Finland and Sweden after their expected delivery in 2023, according to Deltamarin.
Deltamarin said in a press release issued on Tuesday that after the economic difficulties caused by COVID-19 this year, the contract is of great significance, as it further enhances the company's employment situation for the coming 18 months.
The company added that the work will be mainly advanced at its offices in Finland. It has earlier provided the Chinese shipyard with consultancy and contract design services on the project.
"We at Deltamarin are extremely happy and thankful to get this contract during this very abnormal global business environment caused by COVID-19 epidemic," said Janne Uotila, managing director of Deltamarin, in the press release.
Mikael Lindholm, head of Newbuilding Department of Finnlines, indicated that Finnlines has chosen naval Deltamarin and CMJL shipyard based on their extensive experience with building ro-pax vessels. "We look forward to collaborating with them in future," he said.
Deltamarin and CMJL shipyard have rich experience in cooperation. The recent cooperative projects are vessels for Swedish Stena Line and Italian Giovanni Visentini Trasporti Fluviomarittimi, according to the company.
"This contract with Deltamarin further deepens the collaboration between our two companies. We and the end customers have always been very satisfied with the support provided by Deltamarin in these demanding projects," Deputy General Manager of CMJL Justin Liu was quoted as saying in Deltamarin's press release.
Headquartered in Turku, southwestern Finland, Deltamarin Group has 30 years of experience in providing ship design, offshore engineering and construction support services for marine and offshore industries worldwide.
Founded in 1951, China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Weihai)'s predecessor was Weihai Shipyard in eastern China's Shandong Province. The shipyard is mainly engaged in the design, manufacture and maintenance of large and medium-sized ships and marine engineering equipment. Enditem
