Christening of oil recovery and commuter vessel Otava at Uusikaupunki shipyard
Kirjoitettu 28.04.2014
On Monday 28 April 2014, there was a ceremonial ship launching and christening of a multipurpose vessel built for Finferries (Suomen Lauttaliikenne Oy) at the Uki Workboat (Uudenkaupungin Työvene Oy) shipyard. Its godmother, Director Tuula Lybeck of the Ministry of Education and Culture, christened the oil recovery and commuter vessel as Otava with Finferries, Uki Workboat, representatives of classification society Bureau Veritas, invited guests as well as members of the press witnessing the event.
The Uki Workboat shipyard started production on the newbuilding project in May 2013. This new kind of commuter vessel can be used in possible oil recovery tasks while operating in the archipelago. Otava will operate on the Kotka–Pyhtää route whose distance and challenging icy conditions impose special requirements on the vessel’s performance. The vessel was designed to travel in ice 30cm thick and the ship’s frame was moulded to minimise fuel consumption even through higher waves.
The vessel is equipped with the latest technology and is 34.9 metres long and 9 metres wide. The draught of Otava for commuting is 2.4 metres and 2.65 metres for oil recovery tasks. The vessel has a capacity of 100 passengers and can also transport a lorry or eight cars.
“We are happy that Finferries chose Uki Workboat to manufacture the vessel after extensive competitive bidding. In addition to price, excellent know-how in building archipelago and oil recovery vessels and excellent user experience on vessels built at the shipyard tipped the scales in favour of Uki Workboat,” says Uki Workboat Managing Director Harri Putro.
“People have been waiting a long time for the new commuter vessel for the Kotka archipelago. You can say that Otava was made possible by a mutual spirit of local residents and authorities. The lengthy contract for the Kotka–Pyhtää route, tendered by the ELY Centre for Southwest Finland, made way for a €7.5 million investment for the newbuilding. Our new vessel shows that safety and environmental factors are not taken lightly when it comes to developing the archipelago and other waterway areas,” says Finferries CEO Mats Rosin.