History | |
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Name: |
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Owner: | Förde Reederei Seetouristik |
Operator: |
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Port of registry: | |
Route: | Aarhus – Kalundborg |
Builder: | Austal Ships |
Yard number: | 251 |
Completed: | 2004 |
Identification: |
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General characteristics | |
Length: | 86.60 m (284.1 ft) |
Beam: | 23.80 m (78.1 ft) |
Draft: | 3.20 m (10.5 ft) |
Installed power: | 4 × MTU 20V 8000 M70 diesel engines |
Propulsion: | 4 x Lips LJ120E Waterjets |
Speed: | up to 45 knots (83 km/h) |
Capacity: |
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The HSC Dolphin Jet is an 86 m (282 ft) fast catamaran ferry operated by Förde Reederei Seetouristik (FRS) Maroc SARL. It was built for a fast ferry service on Lake Ontario between Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Rochester, New York, United States. After the ferry service failed, the boat was sold in 2007 and has operated in Europe since then. As of June 28, 2012, it is in service on Kattegatruten's Aarhus–Kalundborg route in Denmark.
FRS Maroc SARL. The FRS-service between Morocco and Continental Europe has been initiated back in 2000 on a year-round basis. In 2012 it was moved to the revived high-speed route across the Kattegat in Denmark.
The vessel was built in 2004 at the Austal Ships in Perth, Australia. The catamaran has an overall length of 86.60 meters and a beam of 23.80 m. Her gross tonnage amounts 6,242 GT. The machinery consists of four MTU engines with a total output of 4 x 8,200 kW (44,595 HP) allowing a maximum service speed of 45 knots (83 km/h). 900 passengers and 238 car-equivalents (or a maximum of 10 trucks and 150 cars) can be accommodated on board. In 2007 FRS acquired the vessel for its Spain–Morocco service.
The vessel was delivered by Austal in 2004 and christened Spirit of Ontario I for the operator Canadian American Transportation Systems (CATS) on an 82 nautical mile (94 miles, 152 km) route across Lake Ontario, linking the ports of Rochester, New York, and Toronto, Ontario. A high-speed ferry service between the two ports was discussed and spearheaded by local politicians and business leaders, primarily in upstate New York, beginning in the 1990s and continuing until the early 2000s. The city of Rochester built a ferry terminal in speculation of such a service being implemented.