Based on a well-proven template, the latest short-sea ferry newbuild at Cantiere Navale Visentini in northeast Italy has been committed to Polish Baltic Shipping Company (PZB). Floated out last month from the construction dock at Porto Viro, on the Po delta, the 216m ro-pax is expected to be ready for handover by the end of the year, and deployed in 2024 on the Swinoujscie/Ystad (Sweden) route under PZB’s Polferries’ banner.

As a lengthened, modified version of the iteration of the Visentini design employed for Corsica Linea’s 2022-delivered A.Galeotta, the ship to be traded by PZB is the largest produced to date at the independent, Italian riverside yard. The Polish company has entered into a 10-year charter agreement with the shipbuilder’s owning group, and the deal includes an option to purchase after six years.