VISBORG's captain and William Zhou Xuhui, GSI's Vice President S&P © Philippe Holthof

The delivery of the dual fuel VISBORG is a landmark event for Chinese shipbuilding by virtue of the ship being the most complex ro-pax ever built in the country. GSI, just like AVIC Weihai (which Shippax visited earlier this week), is determined to become a world-leading provider of high-quality ro-pax tonnage. Already back in 2003, CSSC-controlled GSI was the first Chinese shipyard to penetrate the international market with the delivery of VISBY and GOTLAND to Rederi AB Gotland. Both ships still represent the only ferries built in China for export, the VISBORG now being the third one. As Gilbert Walter of BRS, the ship's broker, pointed out, "Many ro-paxes have been ordered in China in recent years, yet GSI is the only one so far that has successfully delivered three ro-pax ferries to a demanding international customer – all the other ones still have to prove themselves."

The typical Chinese naming ceremony – complete with a lion dance performance as tradition wants it – was attended by the Nilsson family, owners of Rederi AB Gotland, with 91-year-old Eric Nilsson taking centre stage. Following the champagne splash, all invited guests boarded the vessel to see the final result of more than three years of hard work. "I am extremely proud of what we have achieved," William Zhou Xuhui, GSI's Vice President S&P, told Shippax in an exclusive post naming ceremony interview. "This is the most advanced ro-pax ever built in China. This ship class excels in terms of its environmental credentials, comfort (the ship has DNV GL comfort and vibration class notations) and logistics, being specifically designed for one-hour turnrounds." A Shippax fan, Mr Zhou Xuhui's interview will be published in the next edition of ShippaxInfo.

VISBORG was designed by OSK-ShipTech A/S, the Danish naval architecture consultancy that was also in charge of the ship's interior design through its Steen Friis Design subsidiary. According to Mr Zhou Xuhui, VISBORG has a standard of finish reminiscent of cruise ships. With an intake of 1,650 passengers and 1,750 lanemetres, the 199.99m long and 25.2m beam VISBORG is similar in size to the ship she will replace on the domestic lifeline service between the Swedish mainland and Gotland. During her most recent trials, she achieved a top speed of 31 knots. VISBORG's sister ship, the THJELVAR, is expected to make her first trials on MGO in January or February with a delivery before the summer of 2019 still being likely.

Many people in the industry believe that the recent ro-pax ordering spree in China is the shape of things to come. Actually, Shippax understands that the official confirmation of the TT-Line order at Jinling is imminent, so watch this space.

© Shippax / Philippe Holthof