Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company CJSC (ASCO) has put into operation a RoPax ferry boat, which became the first such ship in the company's fleet. The vessel was designed by the Ukrainian company Marine Engineering Bureau together with Azerbaijani specialists.
The ceremony was attended by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. The ferry, named "Azerbaijan", was built at the Baku shipyard by order of ASCO.
At the shipyard, by order of the shipping company, another RoPax ferry, "Akademik Zarifa Aliyeva", is being built. Both ships were designed by the Ukrainian company Marine Engineering Bureau from Odessa, guided by Gennadiy Egorov, in cooperation with Azerbaijani specialists.
Keel of the lead vessel of the CNF18C project "Azerbaijan" was laid down on December 9, 2017. The launching of the vessel took place on December 13, 2019. The ship "Akademik Zarifa Aliyeva" was laid down on March 4, 2018.
Ferries are designed for freight and passenger transportation. Vessels with a deadweight of 5.54 thousand tons will be able to load up to 56 tank cars, 46 gondola cars, 44 freight cars, 50 trucks, and also have 100 passenger seats.
It should be reminded that last summer in Azerbaijan the oil tanker "Kelbajar", built by "Baku Shipyard" LLC by order of the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO), was launched for final completion. The concept of the vessel was developed jointly with the Odessa Marine Engineering Bureau and ASCO specialists, as well.
RoPax (Roll-On-Roll-Off-Passenger-ship/ferry) is an acronym used to describe ships that combine roll-on/roll-off features for the carriage of private cars and commercial vehicles with the provision of accommodation spaces for the carriage of large number of passengers, usually on short voyages.
Source: CFTS UA
