OCTOBER 21, 2013 — Bakker-Sliedrecht, Sliedrecht, The Netherlands, has won a contact to provide the drive systems for seven double ended catamaran ferries being built by the State of Rio Janeiro, Brazil. The 78.4 m long x 14.8 m beam aluminum ferries will each have a capacity of 2,000 m. They will be used to boost capacity on the Rio de Janeiro – Niterói route in preparation for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.

Designed by CoCo Yachts Holland BV, the vessels are being built at China's Afai Southern Shipyard, Guangzhou.

The ferries will have azimuth thruster propulsion ferries and have a minimum design speed of 18 knots. Six will be diesel fueled and one will be dual diesel and LNG fueled.

For each of the seven ferries, Bakker-Sliedrecht will supply:

• the 690V AC twin main switchboard linked by a cable tie;
• two auxiliary switchboards for the thruster drive system;
• two thruster drive systems, suitable for two motors per drive system;
• four electromotors delivering 700 kW each.

The drive systems will be engineered in the Netherlands. Bakker Marine Electric Zhangzhou (China) will build the switchboards and drive systems. The drive systems will then be commissioned at the shipyard in China.