HALIFAX, Sept. 27, 2013 /CNW/ – The largest Canadian Flag Con/Ro ship
will set sail tomorrow from Flensburg, Germany destined for St. John’s,
Newfoundland and Labrador. Following a series of successful sea trials,
Oceanex Inc. accepted delivery of the vessel today as originally
scheduled. The Oceanex Connaigra is expected to arrive in St. John’s next weekend, where it will stay
for a few days before sailing to Halifax to work the Halifax service
while the Oceanex Sanderling completes a short dry dock. The vessel
will then move on to Montreal, where it will provide a fixed weekly
service between the ports of Montreal and St. John’s.

Captain Sid Hynes, Executive Chairman at Oceanex, states “I am extremely
proud to add this innovative, environmentally friendly vessel to our
fleet. The Oceanex Connaigra has been custom designed to meet the many specific requirements of our
trade and promises to provide optimum performance and reliability in
the harsh weather conditions of east coast Canada.” Captain Hynes goes
on to say that he has been extremely pleased to have worked with
Flensburger Shipyard (FSG), a world-leader in the construction of RoRo
ships and known for their ability to build ships on time and on budget.
Hynes says “FSG have lived up to their promise of building a
state-of-the-art vessel, and I look forward to working with them again
on future projects”.

From Germany, FSG CEO, Peter Sierk states “we are very proud to have
been assigned to build this innovative vessel for Oceanex. Such good
results were only possible due to the excellent cooperation of all
employees of Oceanex and Flensburger, and we are looking forward to
building another ship for Oceanex in the future.”

The Oceanex Connaigra is designed to carry containers varying in size from 20′ to 53′ as well
as trucks, trailers, cars, and over dimensional cargo with a total of
13,700 square metres of available space and a deadweight of 19,300
tons. Other custom features include movable vehicle decks and a wide,
reinforced side ramp, thereby improving the versatility of the vessel.
For crew comfort and cargo safety, the ice-class Oceanex Connaigra has been outfitted with anti-roll stability tanks and a gyro controlled
active fin stabilizer system, which ensures a stable platform and
performance reliability. Classed by DNV as a “clean ship”, the Oceanex Connaigra already meets stricter environmental regulations taking effect in 2015.

Oceanex Inc., a privately owned Short Sea Shipping company, is a leading
player in the east coast transportation industry. Oceanex provides full
inter-modal transportation services between Mexico, the United States,
and mainland Canada to the island of Newfoundland. Oceanex further
serves over land all points in Newfoundland from St. John’s daily.

Flensburg Shipbuilders, founded in 1872 and the world’s leading builders
of RoRo ships have built an outstanding reputation for their work. The
shipyard has delivered over 750 ships to date, concentrating on
specialized vessels and tailor-made developments – not only RoRo and
RoPax sectors, but also naval ships and offshore ships.

SOURCE OCEANEX INC.

Image with caption: “The Oceanex Connaigra during sea trials in Flensburg, Germany. (CNW Group/OCEANEX INC.)”. Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130927_C5134_PHOTO_EN_31452.jpg

Image with caption: “The Oceanex Connaigra during sea trials in Flensburg, Germany. (CNW Group/OCEANEX INC.)”. Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130927_C5134_PHOTO_EN_31454.jpg

Image with caption: “The Oceanex Connaigra during sea trials in Flensburg, Germany. (CNW Group/OCEANEX INC.)”. Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130927_C5134_PHOTO_EN_31456.jpg

Image with caption: “The Oceanex Connaigra during sea trials in Flensburg, Germany. (CNW Group/OCEANEX INC.)”. Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130927_C5134_PHOTO_EN_31458.jpg