NEW IF Ship

[Davy Jones]

Given Ulysess' age, I would have expected some serious upgrading/modernisation to have taken place by now. I think I'm right in saying that her arch-rival, Stena Adventurer, has had a couple of facelifts to date.

[PaddyL]

Given Ulysess' age, I would have expected some serious upgrading/modernisation to have taken place by now. I think I'm right in saying that her arch-rival, Stena Adventurer, has had a couple of facelifts to date.

Mind you Adventurer is hardly classy...

[IFPete]

It is possible Uysses will see an upgrade late 2020 / early 2021 after the delivery of the new vessel to replace her.

This upgrade could include scrubbers and other technology.

Her interior still looks good inside, however there are areas for improvement like a proper drivers lounge rather than the presently modified Quays Restaurant. The area behind the shop could do with a revamp and the addition of a lounge with reclining seats would be a good similar to Brittany Ferries Monte Saint Michael.

I would not be surprised if her aft upper vehicle deck was extended aft to increase her payload provided it did not effect her stability and possibly more cabins if they are needed. As Swifts crew will no longer live on her after 2020 it opens more cabins to freight drivers and the travelling public.

Lets see what FSG have in mind for upper vehicle deck loading in Dublin on the newbuild.

Perhaps Ulyesses could be modified similarly for minimal cost.

I am wondering if Irish Ferries might switch Terminals with Seatruck to gain access to longer deeper berths. 

[Steven]

Given Ulysess' age, I would have expected some serious upgrading/modernisation to have taken place by now. I think I'm right in saying that her arch-rival, Stena Adventurer, has had a couple of facelifts to date.

Its just over a year since I was last on Ulysses, but I wouldn't have said she was in need of a facelift or modernisation and I don't see how she could have deteriorated that much in a year tbh.  Her crew seem to look after her and are rightfully very proud of their ship.  That her interior has aged so well is testament to how good the original design and outfitting was.  I did personally feel she didn't live up to the hype however, but given the amount of hype about her thats not really surprising (she is a ferry after all). If they do give her a facelift they'd better leave the pub alone!!!  ;)

I think sometimes as enthusiasts we get carried away with wanting the renewal of things that don't need renewed (on the flip-side there are some that don't think anything should ever be changed - I personally feel there is a happy medium).  Perhaps we could see some upgrading/refreshing of parts of the vessel and updating of the branding were necessary, but if something isn't broke why fix it?  Personally I think it would be nice to have two vessels with their own character, but whatever decision is taken will more likely than not be the "correct" one if ICG's record is anything to go by.

This upgrade could include scrubbers and other technology.

With regard to scrubbers, I was recently talking to a chief engineering officer with a lot of experience in this area and he was saying that the current thinking in the industry is that retrofitting scrubbers is not such a good idea after all.  They are a much better idea when added during build as the vessel can be designed around them, but retrofitting them to engines not designed for them adds a lot of additional challenges and that in his experience running on DMA is a better option (though it too has its drawbacks such as increased wear on engine components).  He also confirmed that the early adopters (that haven't already removed them) are facing costly maintenance bills due to corrosion issues on their scrubber installations, bills which potentially outweigh any savings.  In short he is of the opinion that they are more or less a no-brainer for newbuilds but not the silver bullet they were supposed to be on older vessels.

If the enthusiasts wet-dream of an extended Ulysses is to be fulfilled I'd say it will be after Irish Ferries have had a chance to assess whether they need even more capacity.  New build 2 is going to need a lot of continued growth to fill on-top of Ulysses, not to mention Adventurer and whatever vessel is operating opposite her in a few years time.  Cost of course is another consideration, not to mention what the original design was designed to take in terms of expansion.

[alfie79]

Just got word last night that Julys booking on W.B.Yeats have being cancelled due to the shipyard being delayed in delivering her.

has anyone any updates?

[LongTimeReader]

The Irish Times confirmed the story today.

Irish ferries don't seem to have a firm delivery date based on the article, really appear to need confirmation from FSG. Interesting that they mention article makes reference to email sent to affected passengers last night, "We will contact you and offer you a space we have held for you on the MV Oscar Wilde close to your booked sailing date". I wonder does this mean they coincidentally still have sufficient capacity on OW or did they deliberately hold some capacity?

IF offering €150 voucher for sailing to France next year. Hardly going to push them into a loss position over this. If that was €150/passenger it might be more reasonable. 

It'll be interesting whether this story grows legs or is merely an afterthought by the media. I strongly suspect if this was the late delivery of a Ryanair aircraft then there would be a weeks worth of news reporting in it.

[IFPete]

It will be interesting to find out the reason behind the delay, i wonder was it the complexity of the fitting out or was the engine seized or causing unexpected vibration.

Like Stephen said its the biggest task the shipyard have handled to date. They appeared to be playing a blinder. Its possible the delay may be minumum but better to be cautious.

If you look at the building hall the next ship is amost ready to go down the slipway.

[giftgrub]

Not really a surprise that the new ferry has a delay, its the most complicated passenger vessel built by the yard and I would imagine that the issue could be related to fitting out and finishing the WB on schedule, combined with sea trials and system tests, could be the most sensible move to call it now and delay delivery well in advance, allows customers to book on Oscar or Stena Horizon to get to France.

[IFPete]

Airbus had the same problem with A380 when it came to fitting them out due to the size and complexity of interior,

Remember the keel was laid on 15th September, launch was 19th January and super structure was lifted three weeks later.

That does not leave a lot of time for fitting out. Cruise Ships can spend up to a year being fitted out.

hindsight is great, however the yard is busy building ships nose to tail which is great for them.

[Steven]

Don't forget there are 3 yards involved in this build, with the superstructure built by two different companies in Poland (one of the sections was subcontracted out).  Much of the fitting out was already completed on delivery to FSG (a possible issue in itself).  It could also be something totally unrelated and seemingly minor to the layman that has a knock-on effect - we could speculate until the cows come home and still be incorrect.

[IFPete]

The next ship is due for launch most likely Friday.

The delay in WB Yeats will create problems for FSG when it comes to fitting the accomodation block
on the next ship in 10 days time.

[Chef]

The next ship is due for launch most likely Friday.

The delay in WB Yeats will create problems for FSG when it comes to fitting the accomodation block
on the next ship in 10 days time.

Just have to swap berths , problem solved .

[Davy Jones]

That new hull is looking quite tidy!

I do wish they would adjust that camera though so a third of the image isn't taken up with the wall of the building.

[Chef]

Looks like that new hull is going down the slip real soon , maybe Thursday , podium in place , bunting and flags .

[Davy Jones]

Went in the bath today.

Don't know if there's any Youtube yet.