According to a recent survey by National Geographic, the Fjords of Norway are the world’s premier tourist attraction. In one of these beautiful fjords, the Hardangerfjord, with snow-clad mountains as a backdrop in November, you will find the high speed and ferry manufacturer Fjellstrand.
The factory was established in 1928 building small wooden boats for the local market, and are now supplying vessels to all parts of the world.
Fjellstrand is a global brand name for international ferry operators, which know it to be a supplier of high-tech, high quality vessels built of aluminium. This is why we are including Fjellstrand in this issue, as it is at the end of the aluminium production chain – an end user of the product. We could have gone to any other end users, such as manufacturers of aluminium cans for the beverage industry or airline manufacturers which make fuselages, wings and structures out of lightweight aluminium, but we chose Fjellstrand – after all this is shipping at speeds rather alien to the bulk carrier industry.
Asbjørn Tolo is the President of Fjellstrand: “Most of the aluminium profiles in our vessels are produced in Norway, but the aluminium plates are produced in Switzerland and France. Of course, aluminium will not corrode in seawater, and other metals, such as magnesium and manganese, have been added to make an alloy especially fit for purpose. “We need aluminium of a quality that will last for years in our vessels, but also one which we can weld and shape as needed for our ship designs. A catamaran high speed vessel will be subject to structural stress throughout its operational life. Another great advantage of building ships in aluminium is that the material can be recycled after use.”
Fjellstrand started out building lifeboats in aluminium, and then went on to build small aluminium yachts for the US market before manufacturing the high speed catamaran ferries sold globally. Today, the yard also produces accommodation units for offshore vessels and Ro/Ro ferries for short sea shipping. One noticeable vessel is the Stavanger, which has podded propulsion (looks pretty much like the underwater housing of speed boats) that can be rotated in any direction. The captain and officers also just rotate the whole bridge when they change the direction of the vessel, which runs in both directions – there is a stern at both ends.
Future plans include high tech, aluminium-built mega yachts for the global market. “We are very well positioned to go into that market segment,” says Tolo, adding that the yard has teamed up with one of the world’s leading designers of such vessels. The yard is now constructing a new factory hall to facilitate a higher order volume and build more of the bigger ships indoors. The weather on the Norwegian west coast can be rather rainy for much of the year.
A typical Fjellstrand vessel is the JumboCat 60, a car and passenger high speed catamaran constructed for carrying between 450 and 600 passengers. It can carry up to 60 cars, and its door height can accommodate any truck or bus. The operational speed for this type of vessel is 38 knots (70 km/h), and the Fjellstrand production line also includes the FlyingCat 52, which was introduced in 1998, the FlyingCat 46, and the bestseller, the FlyingCat 40. This is the successor of the by far most popular high speed ferry ever made, the 40m FlyingCat. The FlyingCat 40 is a reliable workhorse operating for global customers at speeds of 32–36 knots. The two waterjets are powered by two high-rated diesel engines. Fjellstrand has also invented its own Motion Dampening System (MDS), an active fin located under each bow as well as active fins at the stern to counteract motions. The MDS is hydraulic, computer-controlled, and allows the vessels to keep a higher speed in bad weather too.
For the bulk carrier industry, aluminium is not an option for ship hulls. We hope you have gathered insights into quite another area of shipping – when, in a couple of years, you order your megayacht, you know where to call to have a unique vessel built to Norwegian shipping traditions.
For more information, please visit www.fjellstrand.no
Date: 2007-10-09