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Post by Starsteward on Jan 19, 2009 1:58:56 GMT -8
I would love to take the drive up Island and do a trip on the NorEx the first week she goes into service, however, my 'sea shells are currently tied up in putting together a video trip on the Queen of Prince Rupert's last ever round trip from Port Hardy to Rupert and back. In many ways a trip on the NorEx would be exciting, however I am looking forward, with much trepidation and sadness to feel the QPR reverberating under my feet as she wends her way to her demise as a very special ship to me.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Jan 19, 2009 7:39:59 GMT -8
Regarding the surprise: It will be kept as a secret and will not be posted here (and you also will not!). The Man of Steel also becomes the Man of Mystery .
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Post by blackshadow on Jan 20, 2009 13:38:48 GMT -8
Here is copy of the new release today.
For Immediate Release 09-002 January 20, 2009 BC FERRIES FINALIZES $108 MILLION LOAN AGREEMENT VICTORIA - BC Ferries has entered into a $108 million loan agreement with KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH, a subsidiary of KfW Bankengruppe, a German export credit bank, at an interest rate of 2.95%. The principal amount of the loan will be repaid over the twelve-year term of the loan. “We are pleased that BC Ferries was able to complete this significant financial transaction at favourable terms despite the continuing uncertainty in global financial markets,” stated BC Ferries’ Chief Financial Officer Rob Clarke. The proceeds from the loan will be used to finance the purchase of the Northern Expedition being constructed by Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft mbH & Co. KG in Germany. Advancement of the funds under the loan will align with BC Ferries’ conditional acceptance of the vessel from the ship builder at its yard, which is expected to take place January 29, 2009. The vessel will be transported by the ship builder to Vancouver, British Columbia, where final acceptance will take place. BC Ferries’ credit ratings were recently confirmed by both Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and DBRS Limited at A- and A (low), respectively. In both cases, the rating agencies have indicated the rating trend is positive for the company.
There something wrong with this. The vessel purchase price was set at $130 million with $30 placed up front but if I can remember BC Government was give money to construct a new northern vessel just after the sinking of the Queen of North. I am unable to find the new release but remember something about it. If I can remember it was in the amount of $80 million, so where did the money go? I am not sure if was stated in a live news report back in the days after of the sinking but know it was maked and I unable find it. I know there is something a miss about BC government funding and it wasn't used for the purchase of the Sonia.
Something is just not right about this and I know many of you are very blood hounds and find out the truth.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,181
Member is Online
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Post by Neil on Jan 20, 2009 14:12:21 GMT -8
There something wrong with this. The vessel purchase price was set at $130 million with $30 placed up front but if I can remember BC Government was give money to construct a new northern vessel just after the sinking of the Queen of North. I am unable to find the new release but remember something about it. If I can remember it was in the amount of $80 million, so where did the money go? I am not sure if was stated in a live news report back in the days after of the sinking but know it was maked and I unable find it. I know there is something a miss about BC government funding and it wasn't used for the purchase of the Sonia. Something is just not right about this and I know many of you are very blood hounds and find out the truth. You have to keep in mind that in the most recent annual report, the total project cost for the Northern Expedition was given as $200 million. That is the planning, shipyard cost, delivery, terminal modifications, and whatever else that went along with it. I don't remember the $80 million that you're referring to, but if you're correct, that and this $108 million loan would just about exactly cover the project cost.
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Post by shipchandler on Jan 20, 2009 19:34:00 GMT -8
Another question for Mr. Brinkmann: Is it a common thing for Flensburger to have open ships for friends and families for all ships they build? And a similar question for anyone knowledgeable of the BC industry: Do they have similar events at BC shipyards? (other than ferries and public vessels) As far as I know, the open ships for the Super C and the NorEx were the first ones because of the remarkable milestones FSG did with these ferries. We once had a complete FSG family day some years ago, were the whole yard was openened as an exhibiton. We have prepared infomaterials for the visitors and had a large exhibition about the design departments in the cantine. I don´t think we will have open ships for the next series of RoRos. Compared to a ferry they are auite boring (though technically challenging). I also am looking forward to the delivery and I am a bit sad, as it were exciting years with the ferries and to communicate with you over there. I got interesting feedbacks and we had a lot of discussions. I hope we will continue and maybe FSG will be allowed to build some more ferries for BCFS. I am planning a little surprise for you forum guys, but I won´t disclose yet... (It´s not finally organized). I will tell you soon. It occurs to me that you are constantly surprising us and always have, and i thank you for your kind words and interesting facts and photos over these 2.5 years[WOW!!! ,has it been that long??] Should you ever find your way to B.C., please know that you have a friend in my family and myself and im sure in many others on this forum too........... thanks again Markus. S/C
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 20, 2009 20:32:49 GMT -8
I don't know if this has been noticed or discussed yet:
The much hoped-for forward viewing lounge on Deck-5 is a reserved-seating lounge. I'd expect that this "Aurora Lounge" will be a pay lounge, much like the 'North's old NorthStar Lounge.....except the location of this new Aurora Lounge is much better.
However, just aft of this Aurora lounge, are two general-admission seating lounges (one on either side of the ship), and it appears as the seats face to the ship's side.....ie to look out the windows.
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Re Deck-4, since the "Raven Lounge" is located next to the Canoe Cafe (according to the signs), I'm assuming that the Raven-Lounge is the bar? Or is the Raven the theatre?
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Post by herrbrinkmann on Jan 21, 2009 7:11:12 GMT -8
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Post by Northern Exploration on Jan 21, 2009 7:38:24 GMT -8
I hadn't noticed that the forward lounge was going to be the pay area. On the QoftN the forward lounge was also named, in that case the Prince of Wales Lounge (not Whales as some tourists wondered ;P) in honor of Charles and Diana's trip on her during Expo. I had assumed they had just named the lounge. A couple of the side lounges seemed "contained" enough I presumed that they would be the equivalent of the North Star Lounge.
But now I am confused. I thought on the Coastals the Raven lounge was the pay lounge. The thread is just too large to search back through the photos though.
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Post by Ferryman on Jan 21, 2009 8:38:39 GMT -8
Well, the only other Ferry with a "Raven Lounge" is the Northern Adventure. On the Norad, this lounge is the main seating area. So I'd assume the Raven Lounge on the Norex would also be the main public seating area. It doesn't surprise me that the Forward lounge will be a pay lounge, with those big windows. I have to wonder though, with how much they will charge for people to use the lounge. On the main routes, the pay lounge is $10 for the hour and a half crossing. On the Norex, the crossing will be up around 15 hours.
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Jan 21, 2009 10:43:41 GMT -8
Based on the ship's layout diagram, the forward seating area is described as a reserved seating lounge. My understanding based on what I've been told is that the lounge seating is reservable for the duration of the voyage, so that you can exit and return when you want to, you just have to pay the initial price to get in, like the extra charge you would pay to get in to the buffet.
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Post by Balfour on Jan 21, 2009 10:59:36 GMT -8
Thanks again for posting more of those Markus. On behalf of all of us on the the forum I'd like to thank you for all your hard work, dedication and generosity to taking all these photos and providing updates throughout the construction. Again, I am very much looking forward to taking a trip aboard the NorEx in the near future.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 21, 2009 12:57:28 GMT -8
Based on the ship's layout diagram, the forward seating area is described as a reserved seating lounge. My understanding based on what I've been told is that the lounge seating is reservable for the duration of the voyage, so that you can exit and return when you want to, you just have to pay the initial price to get in, like the extra charge you would pay to get in to the buffet. On the Queen of the North, you paid approx $15 for the day, and got your own souvenir electronic-stripe pass-card from the pursar's office.
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Post by WettCoast on Jan 21, 2009 22:23:50 GMT -8
For someone such as me, not being able to get a decent view forward is BAD. This is one of the things that I do not like about the NorAd. On the NorEx, it appears that I will simply have too fork out the extra $$'s to use this lounge as otherwise forward viewing opportunities are pretty limited. On the outside decks it appears that there is nowhere with a good forward view. The outside deck layout is somewhat similar to the NorAd. It is a pity that they did not design in a forward outside deck like we have on the QPR.
So the passenger fair on the NorEx will be $15 to 25 higher than the advertised rate if you wish to take in the view. Consider this a scenic surcharge. I wonder if off season travellers will also have to pay extra.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Jan 22, 2009 8:00:48 GMT -8
For someone such as me, not being able to get a decent view forward is BAD. This is one of the things that I do not like about the NorAd. On the NorEx, it appears that I will simply have too fork out the extra $$'s to use this lounge as otherwise forward viewing opportunities are pretty limited. On the outside decks it appears that there is nowhere with a good forward view. The outside deck layout is somewhat similar to the NorAd. It is a pity that they did not design in a forward outside deck like we have on the QPR. So the passenger fair on the NorEx will be $15 to 25 higher than the advertised rate if you wish to take in the view. Consider this a scenic surcharge. I wonder if off season travellers will also have to pay extra. The QoftN also didn't have a forward viewing area unless you count the "makeout/smoking" area with the blue then yellow tinted plexiglass on the top deck. You were above the wheelhouse but set back a ways so your view was somewhat limited close up to the ship. The Buffet had forward windows but you mostly saw equipment on the foredeck. The Prince of Wales Lounge had the best view but only people in the first row could really take advantage of it with the high backed chairs. If there were porpoises or dolphins cavorting in the bow wave, the only way to see them properly was to go to the top deck and lean on the railing and hope they would stray out further to your side.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Jan 22, 2009 8:19:19 GMT -8
Well, the only other Ferry with a "Raven Lounge" is the Northern Adventure. On the Norad, this lounge is the main seating area. So I'd assume the Raven Lounge on the Norex would also be the main public seating area. It doesn't surprise me that the Forward lounge will be a pay lounge, with those big windows. I have to wonder though, with how much they will charge for people to use the lounge. On the main routes, the pay lounge is $10 for the hour and a half crossing. On the Norex, the crossing will be up around 15 hours. Thanks Chris now I recall.
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Post by Ferryman on Jan 22, 2009 9:27:41 GMT -8
I meant to add some photos to my post the other day, with explaining the Ravens lounge Oh well, better late than never. For the Inside Passage, I'd likely pay the fee to access the forward lounge. However, I would not pay to access the Northern Adventure in the first place. Here's her forward viewing. There are four porthole windows, and two of them are already taken up entirely by the kids play area. The remaining two are what you have left for forward viewing - on on the starboard side, one on the port side.
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Post by herrbrinkmann on Jan 22, 2009 11:12:21 GMT -8
If I am not completely confused, the Raven lounge is at the stern of the vessel, completely enclosed, having ~100seats, half rounded and equipped with 3 flatscreens, so it might be used as a cinema. I know I did some panorama shots of this area but forgot to put it together and post it. Maybe I will find some time during the weekend.
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Post by cohocatcher on Jan 23, 2009 21:20:47 GMT -8
Her rear (aft?) ramp is up and she appears to have moved a few yards (metres) down the pier.
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Post by yardobserver on Jan 24, 2009 12:00:21 GMT -8
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Post by webgardener on Jan 24, 2009 12:38:47 GMT -8
Now THAT's late delivery for engines! The ship is in the water and soon to be delivered. I imagine it would be difficult to install the main engines at that late juncture.
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Post by DENelson83 on Jan 24, 2009 12:52:58 GMT -8
That engine is for the UN.Ro-Ro vessel next to the NE.
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Post by webgardener on Jan 24, 2009 15:19:03 GMT -8
I understand that, the UN RoRo is also not too far from delivery....seems a bit las-minute, it's not like an outboard motor you just bolt on to the stern.
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Post by webgardener on Jan 25, 2009 9:26:34 GMT -8
The Pacificats had a contraption that could be brought aboard to lift out an MTU diesel engine and lift it onto a trailer if need be. The Pacificats really needed that type of gadget built in, with all the cracking of the engine blocks and other problems.
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Post by islandboy on Jan 26, 2009 12:24:48 GMT -8
Thanks again for posting more of those Markus. On behalf of all of us on the the forum I'd like to thank you for all your hard work, dedication and generosity to taking all these photos and providing updates throughout the construction. I just wanted to second that, gute arbeit und danke!!! It's really great to be able to get an "insider's" view of the construction process!! I definitely can't wait to have a chance to go through the NorEx myself whenever the open house takes place Again, danke!!
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Post by norex on Jan 26, 2009 12:35:21 GMT -8
I just want to mention that from what I hear, there is absolutely no garanty that there will be open houses, due to cut backs, but this is not confirmed yet. But don't get me wrong, I sure hope there is a least one...
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