An English Channel game-changer

Although a double-ended design had been earlier on the drawing board of Channel House, P&O Ferries' Dover headquarters, it only surfaced again shortly after the so-called Ship of the Future project lacked off in conjunction with the 2017 edition of Nor-Shipping. When the Spirit class sister ships were ordered in 2008, alternative fuel options for large ro-pax ferries, let aione hybrid technology, were still few and far between. Not surprisingly, this resulted in a conservative approach with a conventional propulsion plant of four main engines driving twin controllable pitch propellers and four auxiliaries generating the electrical power. So, the focus was rather on optimising the huilform and ro-ro intake. Indeed, with their impressive vehicle deck capacities of 2, 741 freight lane-metres (Im) plus 1, 000 car lane-metres on a separate 3.3m-high upper car deck, the Spirit class represented a quantum jump compared with the ships they replaced, the 1987-built Chunnei beaters Pride of Dover and Pride of Calais. © 2023 Royal Institution of Naval Architects. All Rights Reserved.