Page 32: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2000)

Passenger Vessel Report

Builder Astilleros Espanoles,

Sevilla Yard

Name Dawn Merchant

Type RoPax

Owner Cenargo Intl.

The 7,360-dwt Dawn Merchant melds a high operating speed, sustainable in bad weather, and an exceptional standard of passenger accommodation with 'best practice' as applied to Ro-Pax ferry design. But she is also a cut above many other units deployed by regional opera- tors, as one of the first RoRo passenger ships to fully comply with the so-called

Stockholm Agreement edicts, incremen- tal to IMO damage stability and surviv- ability requirements, governing such vessels working in North-West Euro- pean waters. The ferry has accordingly been designed to withstand flooding to 50 cm on the main deck.

Dawn Merchant's birthmark is her 79.7 ft. (24.3 m) waterline breadth gov- erned by the lock downstream of the

Sevilla shipyard of Astilleros Espanoles (AESA). Cenargo has ordered four such $64 million vessels to date from AESA, although the program may be extended to six. Cargo capacity corresponds to 146 trailer units, with freight-handling effected on a drive-through basis using bow and stern openings. The composi- tion and dimensioning of the powerful damage stability rules for passenger-car- rying RoRos, the use of the tanktop level for revenue-earning purposes has been eschewed in the Dawn Merchant. Her 2.000-lane meters of freight carrying capacity, and a substantial, design dead- weight of 7,360 tons, is based on the use of main and upper decks for cargo pur- poses, with no lower hold. Instead, the space below the main deck is subdivided into 1 1 watertight compartments.

Circle 195 on Reader Service Card .MIIIIllMal'll,,

Great Boat • 1999 propulsion plant, based on four, 9-cylin- der Wartsila 38 engines. Manufactured by the Dutch arm of the Wartsila NSD group, the 38-series main machinery gives an aggregate power delivery of 23,760-kW (32,320-bhp). The maxi- mum speed of 23 knots fulfills the berth- to-berth schedule to enable each vessel to maintain a daily round-trip rotation.

Freight vehicle transfers between the main and upper deck levels are made by means of two tiltable and hoistable, 183.7 ft. (56 m) long ramps, each able to take four road trailers to a total load of 180 tons. These are placed adjacent to each side casing, and have a 8.2 ft. (2.5 m) high, watertight bulkhead running along inboard side. In keeping with

Builder

Boat name

Boat type

Owner

Freeport Shipbuilding

MA7 Starship

Dinner/Cruise

Starship Cruise Line

Measuring 175 ft. (53.3 m), the dinner cruise vessel Starship was recently delivered to Starship Cruise Lines of

Biloxi, Miss. Boasting a mega-yacht style, the vessel was designed by Naval

Architects Dejong & Lebet of Jack- sonville, Fla., and constructed by

Freeport, Fla.-based Freeport Shipbuild- ing. Plachter-Vogel Design provided interior architecture.

United States Coast Guard Certified under Subchapter K for 600 passengers, plus 30 crew, Starship carries a Stability

Letter for Partially Protected waters.

The vessel is designed to have a five to 5.6 ft. full load draft enabling it to access

Great Boat • 1999 some of the Biloxi area's more shallow waterways. The hull features tunnels to allow large enough propellers while minimizing the draft.

Starship is powered by a pair of

Detroit Diesel Series 60 main engines, developing 400-hp at 1,800-rpm. cou- pled to twin disc MG-516 gear gearbox- es. The 250-hp Schottel bowthruster is powered by a Detroit Diesel Series 50 engine with a Twin Disc gear. Stewart &

Stevenson supplied all engines. The boat also features Fernstrum grid cool- ers.

Circle 194 on Reader Service Card

Main Particulars

Length, (o.a) 175 ft. (53.3 m)

Beam, (molded) 40 ft. (12.1 m)

Depth 12 ft. (3.6 m)

Draft 6 ft. (1.8 m)

Fuel oil 4,500 gallons

Black/gray water 9,600 gallons

Main engines Detroit Diesel

Grid Coolers Fernstrum

Bowthruster Schottel

J

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Circle 286 on Reader Service Card Maritime Reporter/Engineering News