TASMANIAN shipping and logistics company SeaRoad will name its new ro-ro vessel SeaRoad I.
The announcement coincided with the traditional keel-laying ceremony in Flensburg at the shipbuilding yard Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft on 27 February.
SeaRoad executive chairman Chas Kelly and SeaRoad chief operating officer, Patrick Guarino, attended the ceremony along with FSG managing director Philipp Maracke.
At more than 43,000 tonnes gross, SeaRoad I the company said it would be the largest vessel in its history.
The new 210-metre-long vessel will join SeaRoad Mersey II and replace SeaRoad’s charter vessel, MV Liekut,tooperate between Melbourne and Devonport from the second quarter of 2024.
SeaRoad I will have capability to transport heavy cargo with a unit weight of up to 100 tonnes.
Mr Kelly said the keel laying is the next milestone in SeaRoad I’s journey, marking the start of the block assembly of the vessel.
“SeaRoad looks forward to progressing the building process in partnership with FSG and seeing our newest vessel take shape on the slipway,” Mr Kelly said.
The first module of the newbuild, weighing more than 154 tonnes, was lowered by crane onto the blocks at the ceremony and in accordance with maritime custom, a coin was placed under the keel for good fortune.
FSG’s Philipp Maracke said, “This LNG-powered vessel once again underlines FSG’s capabilities. Building such a technologically sophisticated vessel requires extensive technological know-how, which we possess. The trust that SeaRoad has placed in FSG with this renewed order for a ship is further proof of this.”
