17 February, 2009

THE NORTHLINK ferry Hrossey is slicing its way through the northern North Sea with a fresh coat of "cutting edge anti-fouling paint", according to the company.

The vessel returned back to service on Sunday, right on schedule after dry docking in Fredericia, in northern Denmark. Now her sister ship Hjaltland will spend the next two weeks in dry dock before doing a stint on the Pentland Firth.

NorthLink said yesterday (Monday) that the new "Teflon like" paint would enable the company to save on fuel, as it discourages weed and barnacle growth on the hull.

"Unlike some chemical leaching anti-fouling paints the paint used by NorthLink is said to be more environmentally friendly," a company spokesman said.

While in Fredericia, engineers constructed a new fo'c'sle deckhouse which should prevent a recurrence of recent wave damage to the fo'c'sle doorway leading to the crew accommodation area.

A similar protective fo'c'sle deckhouse is also being added to Hjaltland, the company said