Roll On Roll Off Ships and Cargo

A Roll-On/Roll-Off [RO/RO] ship is specifically designed to carry wheeled and tracked

vehicles as all or most of its cargo. Vehicles are driven or towed on and off the ship by
means of either the ship's own ramps or shore-based ramps. Because it is designed to
accommodate cargoes which cannot be stacked but which vary in height, below-deck space
and volume utilization is generally less efficient than on a containership. RO/RO ships are
thus commercially viable only in certain specialized trades. However, the RO/RO is the
preferred ship type for deployment of military unit equipment.

Analysis of the RoRo fleet is complex due to the diversity of the fleet and as a result it is a
difficult sector to define. One sector is the deep sea Ro Ro sector, serviced by specialist
players on long haul routes operating liner like services. These are generally with a dwt
above 20,000 dwt, lane metre capacity of around 2,500 and container capacity over 1,000
teu. A second sector consists of smaller vessels operating on ferry / liner type services on
short haul routes such as Baltic, Mediterranean, US Gulf and Japan. It is difficult to make a
clear distinction between Ro Ro passenger ships and the Ro Ros operating in these trades.
A third sector is more spot or short term charter orientated. In this sector, military demand
demand can have a certain impact for some owners. And purpose built vehicle carriers have
multiple decks (4-10+), high speed, roll on roll off discharging / loading facilities and
internal decks and ramps carefully designed to reduce damage and speed up loading /
discharge.

Ro/Ro vessels are ships in which the cargo is loaded and unloaded by means of vehicles
that drive onto the ship and haul cargo to and from the vessel. No predetermined on-board
location is assigned to the cargo as Ro/Ro vessels are equipped with ballast-adjusting
mechanisms. Roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) cargo handling systems refer to systems used when the
cargo can be rolled onto the vessel, such as cases where a trailer is dropped with chassis on-
deck by a tractor-trailer rig. Another type of ro-ro system uses fork lifts to load cargo (the
fork lifts roll the cargo on and off the deck). These systems reduce costs associated with
cargo loading (expensive crane systems and skilled crane operators are not required). This
reduced cost and complexity of loading operations allows ro-ro vessels to call on smaller
and less-developed ports.

Vessels employing this type of cargo handling equipment typically carry trailers, chassis- or
trailer-mounted containers, cars, rail cars, and other rolling machinery, and other cargo
(such as containers) driven on to the vessel by use of a fork lift or other rolling machinery.
These vessels sometimes use a "drive-through" system with access both forward and aft,
which speeds the loading and unloading process. The capacity of ro-ro vessels can be less
than one-half that of a lo-lo vessel of similar size, as cargo cannot be stacked (due to
wheels) and significant space is needed for on-load and off-load ramps. The reduced
capacity of ro-ro ships is at least partially offset by the reduced cargo handling and port
costs accrued by these vessels.

Roll-On/Roll-Off(Ro-Ro) shipping system involves the direct driving-on and driving-off of

cargo. The Ro-Ro method enables shippers to load cargo on the chassis, trailer and "low-
boy" at the plant or warehouse site, transport the vehicles to embarkation points and have
them loaded directly onto the vessel. By rolling cargo on board these vessels and rolling it
off at its destination, shippers can reduce the number of times their cargo is handled.
The inherent disadvantage of Ro-Ro is the waste of cargo carrying capacity due to
undercarriage and all-around clearance requirements. Although the degree of packing may
be reduced for Ro-Ro shipments, keep in mind that the cargo will travel aboard an
oceangoing vessel and will be subjected to all the hazards of an ocean voyage.

These special ships usually have 10 to 12 cargo decks, and two of these are mainly reserved
for transportation of heavier cargo. The heavy-load decks have to be placed relatively high
on the level of the deck above the machinery space if it is located in the afterbody, and thus
relatively high, which is not a good solution as regards the stability of the ship. On the
heavy-load decks or on some parts thereof containers may also be placed which have to be
brought aboard the ship either on wheeled pallets, in which case the pallets remain on the
ship, or by special trucks. The containers are placed in stacks of 1 to 2 layers on the decks.

For functional loading and unloading, space is required for drive lanes, openings in
transverse bulkheads, sides and decks. The ship has to be equipped with a heavy stern ramp,
stern gates, and in general with 1 to 2 side ports. The transverse bulkheads must be
provided with openings, and they have to be specially reinforced and equipped with remote
controlled actuators. The cargo decks must have openings and be equipped with hoistable
drive-lane ramps, of which some are fixed, some hinged or hoistable. In most cases there
are also a few lift platforms of articulated type for handling cargo between two decks. The
highest decks can be divided by means of hoistable car decks.

There are also car decks which are hinged to the side bulkheads and which can be turned by
means of actuators into the operating position. All in all, the structures must have a great
number of openings and they must be reinforced, there is a lot of bulky equipment, fixed or
moveable, in these areas, and space has to be reserved for drive lanes. There are generally 2
to 3 longitudinal pillar rows on the decks, to reduce the hull weight, but at the same time to
create restrictions as to the positioning of vehicles and cargo. The vehicles are driven within
the ship using their own engine power. Because of exhaust gases the ventilation system of
the ship must be exceptionally effective. A large number of ventilation ducts also splits the
deck areas.

The total weight of vehicle carrying ships is also relatively heavy. The vehicles themselves
are homogeneous, light transport goods, the stowage factor being on an average four to five
times higher compared with container and general cargo. In a pure car carrier the weight of
car cargo represents about 40 to 50% of the dead weight of the ship, while in PCTC-type
ships it is only about 20 to 25% of the dead weight. In all circumstances, a considerable
quantity of ballast water has to be transported to ensure the stability of the ship, in the most
unfavourable cases the amount thereof exceeding the weight of the vehicle cargo. As a
result, more engine power is needed, unnecessary fuel is consumed; besides, the shipping
company does not gain anything from transporting "dead water ballast". The deck houses
are located on the uppermost deck, and so are the life-boat stations.

The vertical center of gravity of the ship structure being high has been a limiting factor in
utilizing the space vertically. In conventional techniques the construction design in the
cargo spaces is based on steel plate deck reinforced with stiffening girders. The total
thickness of such a local construction may be 200 . . . >450 mm and the plate thicknesses of
fixed light-weight car decks are 5 to 6 mm at the minimum, exceeding considerably the
local-strength thickness required by the cargo. In a plate field of a deck there are lower
beams in each frame space and high frame girders at sparser intervals. On the edges of deck
openings and drive ramps there are high, strong stiffening beams. Hoistable or turnable
platforms are of lighter construction, shipyard specific, and constructed in accordance with
generally known concepts. Such structures also require space either in the roof or on the
walls; in addition, actuators need space.

Ships adapted to transport wheeled vehicles are usually provided with a single deck only, as
in a Ferry. Occasionally there is more than one deck, but the ship will then have to be
equipped with lifts or internal ramps for moving the vehicle from one deck to another.
Ships for the transportation of new passenger cars have been designed with multiple decks
and internal ramps permitting the stowing of the cars about in the same manner as in a
parking house. The manoevering of these comparatively light cars is much easier than the
manoevering of heavy loaded vehicles or container transporting trucks, so it is acceptable
that a car performs sharp turns inside the shipe. With heavy loads that must be avoided.

To facilitate a rapid loading and unloading it is desirable that the ship be provided with at
least two ramps located at about the same level, so the operations in any part of the ship will
not be influenced by differences in height between the ship and the quay. The cargo
carrying portion of the ship, which is provided with at least two decks, is subdivided into
fully separated cargo volumes, formed as straight, blind alleys emanating from lobbies
arranged inside the ramps. To permit access to the individual decks a longitudinal section
through the ship, between two lobbies, will show that one deck is inclined upwards while
the other deck is inclined downwards from the opposite lobby.

Out of consideration for the ship's safety it is desirable that the cargo carrying portion of the
ship be subdivided into separate compartments, which is difficult to attain if the ship is
provided with internal ramps, permitting communication between different decks.

To facilitate loading and unloading short travelling distances within the ship should be
endeavoured, and as the loaded units usually are very heavy, sharp turns should be avoided.
To permit rapid handling the ship should have at least two access ports, each with a
communication ramp, and it is essentail that these are located at about the same level, so
they may be simultaneously served from the same quay.

The current ship types have weaknesses in loading flexibility. Placing different kinds of
customer-specific batches of different sizes on a number of fixed decks and partly on
hoistable decks or drive ramps prolongs the loading phase and does not always succeed
satisfactorily. The control of batches to be unloaded at a particular port may also lead to
new intermediate loadings there. These problems are hard to eliminate using the current
basic concept. Such ship types exert global sea traffic on all sea routes.

To facilitate firm fastening of wheeled cargo, the fixed structures of a ship have to be
appropriately constructed; separate fastening equipment and plenty of manual work aboard
are also needed. The basic decks of the ships are dimensioned for shaft and wheel loads of
heavy wheeled cargo, whereby the local strength of the decks is on an average 8 to 20 times
higher than is required by a load of passenger cars and vans.

Units moving on wheels are secured on a horizontally loaded vessel, in particular

semitrailers, rolltrailers and cassettes are secured on a ro-ro vessel, by using different
chains, webbings and wires, by means of which each cargo unit is fastened to the deck of
the vessel. One problem in using chains, webbings and wires for lashing the cargo unit to
the deck of the vessel is that, when these are used, the unit lashed to the deck together with
lashings and the deck structure does not necessarily always form a continuous structure of
sufficient strength, which might result in the shifting of cargo in the cargo space in case the
number or the quality of lashings is inadequate. A problem with these known lashings is
also that the lashing is done by hand, which is in itself rather expensive and time-
consuming.

The vessel and the cargo unit are usually parallel, in which connection the forces which are
caused by the movements of the vessel and which are directed at the cargo are greatest in
the transverse direction, which means that transverse securing is very important when cargo
units are lashed to the vessel. Safety factors are also important, and when chains, webbings,
wires, etc. known from prior art are used, one problem is that it is possible to fit them in a
wrong manner, in which connection the lashing does not necessarily fulfil the function set
for it.

In addition to chains, webbings, etc., a trestle, or a trailer horse, is used in connection with
securing of semitrailers, the wheelless end of the semitrailer being supported by means of
the trestle for the time of transport on the vessel. Semitrailers are conventionally provided
with their own legs, by means of which the wheelless end can be supported ashore, but
these legs do not alone sustain the load which is directed at them from the unit and its cargo
during sea transport as a result of the movements of the vessel, and thus said trestle or
equivalent is needed for support of the semitrailer during sea transport. The trestle is usually
made of steel and it is placed manually under the wheelless end of the semitrailer.

Hitherto known modes of installation of gas turbine engine powerplants in such vessels
have involved use of the superstructure to support exhaust silencers, air intakes and their
associated ducting at a high level, producing funnel-like structures which add top weight to
the ship and increase wind resistance. This approach has also required intrusion of engine
air intake ducts and exhaust ducts into otherwise revenue-earning deckspace above the two
hulls. Further problems have been that there have been large pressure losses in the ducting
associated with high level intakes, together with aerodynamic disturbance of the air flow
into the compressor of the gas turbine engine.

The shape of conventional car carriers makes them very susceptible to wind pressure, which
causes leeway, that is, sideways drift of a vessel. In 2003 a new wind resistance-reducing
design for pure car carriers (PCCs) was registered with the Japanese Patent Office. The
technology, applied to vessels since March 2003, was developed in cooperation with
Universal Shipbuilding Corp. The vessel's bow is aerodynamically rounded and beveled
along the bow line to help reduce pressure from headwinds. The upper deck has cargo space
(called the garage deck) to maximize load capacity. The vessel also has different levels,
with square cut corner sections, all along the sides of the vessel at the top of the garage
deck, which help reduce pressure from sidewinds. The design effectively reduces leeway
caused by wind pressure. As a result, the design improves both fuel efficiency, which in
turn reduces emissions of CO2, NOx, and SOx in vessel engine exhaust, and speed. More
than a year of voyages by PCCs of the new design proved, as expected, that the design
reduces leeway, improves speed, and results in an annual fuel efficiency improvement
exceeding 5% over similar PCCs of conventional design.

In March 2011 the Wilh. Wilhelmsen group launched its 150th anniversary vessel, MV
Tnsberg, into operation. The Mark V vessel is the largest of its kind, with a length of 265
metres offering a cargo volume of 138 000 cubic meters over six fixed and three hoistable
decks. The pioneering roll-on roll-off vessel is built at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in
Nagasaki, Japan. Four Mark V vessels will be delivered to Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA and its
partner Wallenius Lines. The second vessel will be delivered in August and two in 2012.
The Mark V class is the most sophisticated vessel ever built in the roll-on roll-off
segment.We expect that Mark V will strengthen our position as the global market leader
within deep sea roll-on roll-off transport, said Jan Eyvin Wang, president and CEO of
Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA, representing the owner of the vessel. The Mark V class is the
most sophisticated ro-ro vessels ever built, with major innovative design criteria such as
high ramp capacity, deck strength and height, low fuel consumption, good transportation
economy and safe cargo handling. Together with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, we have
constructed a class of environmentally friendly vessels with several unique features.

The ship has a Deadweight design of 31,824 tons, scantling 41,554 tons; and Gross tonnage
76,500 gt. With a Length overall 265 meters and a width of 12 meters and safe working
load of 505 tonnes, the vessels stern ramp offers customers the possibility to ship larger
units than ever before. With 50,335 square meters in deck area, of which 31,250 square
meters is reserved for high and heavy cargo, and despite the increased capacity, the Mark V
will use 15 to 20 percent less fuel per unit transported than the Mark IV, thanks to a
streamlined hull and an advanced turbo generator. The clear height of the main deck, 7.1
metres, is also unprecedented for this kind of vessel. Cargo can even be loaded on the
weather deck, which has a ramp from the deck below. Three decks can be hoisted by
electric winches to provide maximum flexibility and utilisation.

The E/S Orcelle is Wallenius Wilhelmsens vision for the future of an environmentally
friendly ocean transport industry. This 250 meter long concept vessel does not release any
emissions into the atmosphere or into the ocean. It uses renewable energy sources and fuel
cells to generate the energy required to power the vessel. Lightweight of vessel is 21,000
tons, and the maximum deadweight capacity is 13,000 tons. The vehicle capacity is 10,000
cars (Based on today's standard units), and the design cargo deck area is 85,000 m2
[compared to 50,335 m2 on the MV Tnsberg]. The E/S Orcelle is powered by the sensible
utilisation of energy from renewable sources. These energy sources will include solar
energy, wind energy and wave energy, and will be used in combination with a fuel cell
system powered by hydrogen.

Wind energy will mainly be utilised for propulsion directly through three sails constructed
of lightweight composite material. The E/S Orcelle will have an optimum cargo capacity of
85,000 m2 of cargo deck stowage area, roughly equivalent to 14 football fields. This is up
to 50% more space than todays modern car carriers, which are capable of transporting
6,500 vehicles. The E/S Orcelle will be capable of transporting up to 10,000 cars on eight
cargo decks. Three of the decks will be adjustable to accommodate cargo of different
heights and weights. Compared to todays vessels, the pentamaran hull shape of the E/S
Orcelle and its utilisation of energy from renewable sources will help optimise the
cargocarrying capacity of the vessel. The E/S Orcelle will have a maximum deadweight
capacity of 13,000 tons and weigh 21,000 tons much like todays car carriers. Yet the E/S
Orcelle will be capable of carrying approximately 3,000 more tons of cargo, thanks to the
use of lightweight materials and the elimination of ballast water. The E/S Orcelle is named
after the Irrawaddy dolphin, or Orcelle in French. WWF, the global conservation
organisation includes the dolphin, which resembles the beluga whale, among the world's
critically endangered species.
Variations on the Ro-Ro Theme
Today the world ro-ro fleet can be subdivided into a number of different types. They include
ships designed to carry freight vehicles only; to carry a combination of containers and freight
vehicles and to transport cars without passengers. There are various other types and freight-
only roro ships form about two thirds of the world ro-ro fleet at present. However, the best
known ro-ro ships are ferries designed to transport commercial vehicles and private cars,
together with large numbers of passengers, usually on short voyages.

Most ships of the Ro-Ro type, i.e. ships for the transportation of wheeled vehicles which
may be driven into, and out of the ship, respectively, or which are adapted to take care of
containers or other standardized cargo units which are handled by fork lift trucks or similar
transportation means, are usually provided with a single deck only. Ships having two or
more decks are provided with lifts for transferring the cargo vertically between the decks, or
has built-in linclined ramps, making it possible to drive from one deck to an other. Both
arrangements require a considerable amount of space, and especially the lift arrangements
are expensive. The handling of the cargo in the vertical direction will further take more time
than the driving on-board.

Sto-Ro (Stowable Ro-Ro) -- Contrary to the Ro-Ro, no cargo remains

on wheels but is directly loaded onto vessel decks. The stowage is
similar to an open Load-on/Load-off (Lo-Lo) vessel; however, the
cargo is brought on board either over a stern/bow quarter ramp or
through a side port door. Vessel operations can turn to this concept of
cargo handling as a means of combining the undoubted handling ad-
vantages of the Ro-Ro (improved turnaround times) with the
efficiency of a Lo-Lo (increased utilization of a ship's cubic capacity).
Float-On/Float-Off -- A heavy deck semi-submersible vessel designed
to permit oversized indivisible cargo being floated into position for
deck stowage. The reverse procedure is used at the destination port
where the load is floated from the submerged deck that is ballasted
down for the outturn. The vessel travels with its deck and load above
the water.
Trot-On/Trot-Off -- Ro-Ro conversion or version in which vessel trailer
decks are transformed into modern cattle pens capable of
accommodating in excess of 2,000 animals. New installations include
provision of fresh water through evaporation and increased tankage
"barns" for 1,600 cubic meters of hay or straw and an air circulation
plant.
Con-Ro - Combination Container and Ro-Ro Vessels -- This design
allows for flexibility of operation by incorporating container and
other wheeled cargo handling capability. These vessels carry
containers on and under deck forward and have a stem ramp with
tween decks for the carriage of Roll-on/Roll-off cargo in the aft
underdeck area. The Ro-Ro cargo may consist of over-sized pieces
such as construction equipment, i.e., bulldozers and excavators,
which are driven onto the vessel via the ramp. Containers can also be
stowed on the Ro-Ro decks but are brought aboard on chassis and
removed with forklift machines. If space and equipment is available
the container can be left on its chassis during transport.
RoPax - Ro-Ro / Passenger - Freight and passenger ferries (RoPax
ferries) are designed to carry passengers and freight, and the emphasis
 may be on freight, or on passengers, depending on operator
requirements. These ships may be thought of as several decks for
passengers [to austere cruise ship standards], atop several decks for
vehicles. Typical accomondations range from about 1,000 to about
2,500 passengers, and several hundred vehicles. Unlike ferries, which
have passenger plane like seating for passengers for short distance
trips of only a few hours duration, Ro-Pax vessels have stateroom
accomodations for passengers for trips which may take the better part
of a day to complete. These vessels have large decks for lorries,
trailers and cars that are easy to load. In addition to facilities such as
restaurants, amusement arcades and cinemas, there are also areas
specifically for lorry drivers, with a separate dining room, showers
and cabins.
A ferry is any vessel used to provide transportation only between places
that are no more than 300 miles apart, and to transport only -
passengers, or vehicles, or railroad cars, which are being used, or
have been used, in transporting passengers or goods. Unlike Ro-Pax
vessels, which have stateroom accomodations for passengers, ferries
have passenger plane like seating for passengers. The fundamental
objective of ferry terminal design is to enable passengers and vehicles
to proceed from the ferry to access a mode of continued travel. The
internal layout of facilities reflects this concern for the convenience of
passengers and their vehicles by providing simple and direct
passenger/vehicle flow routes through the facilities. A tractor-trailer
carried on a ferry with a container either loaded with cargo or empty
will classify the vessel as a ferry and the goods within the trailer or
container are looked upon as having arrived in the Customs territory
by ferry.

Some current designs of roll-on/roll-off ferries for relatively short sea passages are twin-
hulled designs. The engines are housed in the base of the hulls near the waterline, with
power offtake shafts extending sternwards to the propulsors, which may comprise waterjets.
These vessels are designed for high speeds, with small wetted hull areas to minimise drag
from the water. Their loading decks are arranged to span the distance between the two hulls
at as low a level as possible compatible with the seagoing ability required by the vessel and
the rest of their superstructures are designed as far as possible with long low continuous lines
to minimise aerodynamic drag and susceptibility to cross winds and to obtain the greatest
possible stability for the vessel. A further design aim is to maximise cargo capacity.

RO-RO ships have also been developed to handle multicargoes, whereby they are enabled to
transport different vehicles as a part of the cargo. In these ship types the cargo is transferred
aboard by means of waggon and carriage pallets, which are carried along with the cargo to
the port of destination. This method is applied particularly to transporting forest products. To
increase loading flexibility, containers are also loaded on these pallets. Straddle carriers and
trucks are also used for container handling. A high cargo space can be divided vertically in
two or three sections by means of so-called hoistable car decks. The loading and unloading
capacity of the ship is satisfactory. All in all, this method is, however, expensive on account
of terminal facilities and special ship equipment. Space utilization and stowage efficiency are
not good.
In 1992, the Washington State Ferry System decided three new Jumbo Mark II Ro-Ro
Ferries were needed for its Bremerton and Bainbridge Island runs. The Jumbo Mark II was
the first new auto ferries built for Washington State Ferries [WSF] in 20 years. While the
name didn't show much imagination, it isn't entirely unjustified. The ferries are modern
versions of the Jumbo Class ferries Spokane and Walla Walla. The Jumbo Mark II boats are
designed to separate walk-on and auto traffic. The Mark II's hold 2,500 passengers, 500
more passengers than the Jumbos. The increase bumped their size up 20 feet. At 460 feet,
they are the largest double-ended auto ferries in the world. While carring 500 more
passengers, the auto capacity only went up by about 12, to 218. Passeger capacity was more
important on the Bainbridge run, where the 2,000 passenger Jumbos were filling to capacity
on the morning and evening commuter runs.

As of early 2006 the largest PCC in service was the MV Mignon, owned and operated by
Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines of Sweden, it can carry some 7,200 car equivalent unite [CEU].
The Mignon was the first of five Wallenius Boheme-class vessels to be stretched by 28
metres to 228 metres LOA. The lengthening results in making these the biggest car carriers
in the world. The Mignon unloads cars, pleasure craft, etc and load export cars, trucks and
haulers, predominantly for the US, at Port of Gteborg's Car Terminal. In addition to the five
vessels stretched or to be stretched, Wallenius Lines had a newbuilding program of six pure
car/truck carriers, three of 6,500 and three of 8,000 cars capacity.

Five of the ships will be built at the Daewoo Shipyard in Korea. The first two new vessels
had a cargo capacity of 6,700 cars and will be delivered at the end of 2006. The other three,
each with a cargo capacity of 8,000 cars, were delivered in late 2007 and early 2008. The
ships were operated by the subsidiary Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines. The sixth ship, with a
capacity of 6,400 vehicles, is being built at Hyundai Heavy Industries in Korea and will be
operated by the Wallenius Korean subsidiary, EUKOR.

Wallenius Lines reached an agreement in early 2006 with Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA regarding
the sale of two LCTC newbuildings at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. Each
vessel has a capacity of 8,000 cars and is due for delivery in 2009. The Wallenius Lines
newbuilding program comprised eight vessels to be delivered between 2006 and 2008.

Superstar is Tallinks first ferry designed in Italy, by interior designers Carlo Ciribi and
Alessandro Cestaro, who also designed the fast ferrys shops. The vessel, which has the
capacity to carry 2,080 passengers on the two-hour crossing. Tallink-Silja Line commenced
operations of its new high speed vessel, the M/S Superstar, on the Helsinki-Tallinn route on
30 April 2008. M/S Superstar, together with the M/S Star delivered in Spring 2007, will
jointly operate as the Tallink Shuttle service. Tallink Shuttle is the new service concept
combining fast and comfortable travel between the two capital cities, said the company. The
Tallink Shuttle vessels are designed to be more environmentally friendly, characterised by the
green colour of their hulls. Both vessels consume less fuel, have modern technical solutions
and create smaller waves compared to smaller high speed crafts, according to the company.
Built in the Fincantieri shipyards in Italy, M/S Superstar was designed by Italian interior
designers Carlo Ciribi and Alessandro Cestaro. At 175m long and 28m long, the vessel has
ten decks, can hold 2,080 passengers, and has 1,930 lane meters for vehicles.
Stena Line has a modern fleet of 35 vessels and Europes most comprehensive network with
18 ferry routes in Scandinavia and around the UK. Stena Line goes from 2010 between Hoek
van Holland and Harwich sail with two ' superferries ', which is currently still under
construction at the yard of Aker Yards in Wismar in Germany. The new ships under
construction requires an investment of 400 million ruyim. With their 240 metres in length
and a total of 5,500 meters at essay space for trucks and passenger cars, they are the largest
world RoPax-ferries . The number of vehicles that these ships can transport rises by more
than 30 percent.

In 2010 Stena Hollandica was the worlds largest ropax ferry in terms of combined
passenger and freight capacity. The first of two large superferries, built by Nordic Yards in
Wismar, Germany, was recently put into service with Stena Line on the North Sea run
between Harwich and the Hook of Holland. Stena Lines largest ever investment of over
375 million ($586 million) has been spent on building the two new 62,000gt vessels, with
the Stena Hollandica now in service and the Stena Britannica scheduled for delivery
imminently. The 11,600 dwt newbuildings measure 240m long, 32m wide and have a
draught of 6.4m. The largest ferries of their type in terms of combined passenger and freight
capacity, each has 5,500 lane metres over four decks interconnected by ramps and capable of
accommodating 230 cars plus 300 freight vehicles. Discharging and loading is by means of a
17m wide stern ramp and a 7m wide bow ramp facilitating double tier loading/discharging.
The vessels are fitted with 185 refrigerated cargo sockets. Passenger capacity is 1,200 and
the accommodation, which is situated on decks 10 and 11, consists of 438 two-bed cabins
and 100 five-bed cabins giving a total of 1,376 beds onboard. The 538 cabins all have a
modern en suite bathroom while larger windows have been installed in both bathroom and
main cabin areas to provide a feeling of space and light.

On March 2011, the French company Brittany ferries revealed a partnership with the French
subsidiary of STX group in order to produce the design of a new environmental class of
ferries. If this project successfully pass the stage, Brittany Ferries will be the first company
to order a vessel of the "Pegasis" class. The vessel will be Gas powered. In January 2012,
specification of the ship have been released: 52,500 Gt; 210m long; 31m wide; 25 knots;
2,400 passengers; 650 cars; 40 trucks; 650 cabins.