Australian lightweight shipbuilding technology has a new reference in the Nordic market by way of the 37-knot catamaran ro-pax ferry Express 5. Although not the longest vessel delivered to date by Austal, the 115m addition to the Molslinjen fleet ranks as the largest newbuild in terms of volume produced to date by any of the Australian group’s yards.

Powered by four medium-speed engines, Express 5 has capacity for 1,610 passengers, and space over two ro-ro decks for 450 cars, or alternatively 617 lane-metres of commercial vehicles plus 257 cars.

The sleek, high-speed ferry has been allocated to the route linking the southernmost Swedish port of Ystad with Ronne, on the Danish island of Bornholm. Construction has been fulfilled by the Balamban yard of Austal Philippines, using a design from the Austal Australian team that developed the original, signature raked-bow hull as embodied in the preceding, 2019 delivery to Molslinjen, the 109m Express 4.