Second A380 Ro-Ro vessel named “City of Hamburg” at ceremony in Singapore

The second roll-on and roll-off (RoRo) sea vessel designed to transport sections of the A380 between manufacturing countries has been officially named City of Hamburg at a ceremony in Singapore. The event took place at the shipyard of Singapore Technologies Marine (ST Marine) and was presided over by Mme Valérie Pécresse, French Minister for Higher Education and Research.

Scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of this year, the City of Hamburg will join the existing vessel Ville De Bordeaux, delivering complete A380 wings and fuselage sections from France, Northern Germany, Spain and the UK to the French city port of Bordeaux. From there, the sections are transported by river barge and road to the Airbus final assembly line in Toulouse.

A third RoRo vessel is also currently under construction at the ST Marine shipyard in Singapore and will join the fleet in early 2009. All three vessels are owned and operated by a joint venture between shipping groups Louis Dreyfus Armateurs of France and Leif Hoegh of Norway.

Speaking at the ceremony in Singapore, Thierry Larroque, Airbus Vice President Supply Chain Logistics and Transport, said that it was fitting that ST Marine had been chosen to build the City of Hamburg and its future sister ship.

“As the home country of the first airline to fly the A380, we are pleased that industry in Singapore has also played a part in this global project,” he said. “ST Marine was selected for the quality of its production and skills, and we look forward to the new vessels playing an invaluable role in the A380 production chain.”

The A380 is the world’s largest passenger aircraft and first entered service with Singapore Airlines in October 2007. Altogether, Airbus has already won 196 firm orders and commitments for the aircraft from 17 customers worldwide, with Emirates of Dubai and Qantas set to take delivery of their first A380s in the coming months.

Greener, cleaner, quieter and smarter, the A380 offers airlines unmatched fuel efficiency, consuming less than three litres per passenger per 100 kilometres and achieving seat-mile costs 20 percent lower than the previous generation of very large aircraft.