Fast Lines Belgium has christened two new combi freighters in the port of Antwerp. They are the first newbuildings in the shortsea shipping company’s fleet, with a third vessel to follow later this year.
The ships are two so-called “Combi Freighter” (CF) 3850 vessels built by the Dutch company Damen Shipyards. The third newbuild, which is scheduled for delivery later this year, will also be a CF 3850. Fast Lines ordered the ships in October 2023.
The naming ceremony was attended by Fast Lines employees from Belgium, the UK, Ireland and Poland. Representatives from Damen, as well as customers and suppliers, were also present. In total, more than 200 guests attended the ceremony. Instead of the traditional champagne bottle, the ships were christened with locally brewed Seef beer – a modern interpretation of an Antwerp beer tradition dating back to the 16th century.
The vessels are named after members of the Fast family: “Fast Olivia” and “Fast Anna Sofia”. The third freighter, “Fast Gilles”, was recently launched at Damen’s Yichang shipyard in China.
“On behalf of Damen, I am very pleased to celebrate this special occasion today together with Fast Lines Belgium,” said Vincent Maes, Damen’s Sales Director for Belgium. “During the construction of these ships, we maintained a very positive cooperation. This is partly due to our shared values and long-term focus as family businesses – a fact that is also reflected in Fast Lines Belgium’s choice of names for these vessels.”
Catrien Scheers, President of Fast Lines Belgium, said: “Throughout the project, there has been a very close and pleasant collaboration between our two companies.” Damen had always been open to suggestions. “Our ideas were not only taken into account for our own ships, but were also integrated into the design of the next generation of CF 3850 vessels.”
Before their christening, the “Fast Olivia” and the “Fast Anna Sofia” had already been in service for six months. “After delivery, the crew had to transfer the new ships from China to Europe,” said Yvan Vlaminckx, Managing Director of Fast Lines Belgium. “This was, of course, an exciting but also nerve-wracking moment. Nevertheless, we received positive feedback after just a few days.” He added that the company was very satisfied with the vessels’ performance so far. “As Damen predicted, fuel consumption is significantly lower than with existing ships of the same capacity.”
Over 50 combination freighters sold
Within just five years, Damen Shipyards has sold more than 50 units of the CF 3850 model. In the shortsea sector, the vessel is considered a real “blockbuster”. The freighters offer flexible transport options combined with high fuel efficiency. The concept also allows for additional options to be installed to further reduce emissions and fuel consumption.
At the end of last year, Damen announced a further development of the CF 3850 design at Europort in Rotterdam. The scalable “CF 5000 ICE” is the first vessel in a new series of ice-class cargo ships. Both the previously built CF 3850 and the “conventional” CF 5000 vessels were incorporated into the development. According to the Dutch company, the design was optimized through a slight lengthening of the hull and an increased draught aimed at boosting carrying capacity.
