By
Rebecca Gibson |
Peng Xing Shipping Company has launched Peng Xing 15, the first of two high-speed passenger ferries to be built by AFAI Southern Shipyard.
Designed by CoCo Yachts, the 40 m ‘Coastal Cruiser 200’ ferry Peng Xing 15 started operating on 1 May after two weeks of crew training. Along with her sister vessels, the ferry has been designed to reduce fuel consumption at high speed and full load condition. Due to weight control measures implemented by the shipbuilder and CoCo Yachts, the vessel is light and achieved an average speed of 32.8 knots at full load condition, delivering fuel savings of 20%.
Peng Xing 15 features an optimised aluminum hull and superstructure, and has been built 5% lighter than estimated using the Siemens FEMAP FEM system. The vessel is equipped with a sea water cooled split unit air-conditioning and heating system, as well as 163 economy seats on the main deck aft and 28 business class seats on the fore. There are also two VIP cabins, which each accommodate five people, and two four-person crew cabins.
Shenzhen Peng Xing Ferry Company – which operates fast ferries between Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macao – has ordered three additional ferries with a slightly different passenger lay-out.