She is 224.8 m long with a beam of 26.0 m, and has capacity for 820 passengers in 180 cabins with 556 berths. Her two freight decks offer a combined 1,580 lane metres plus space for 66 cars. They are accessed via two stern quarter ramps and a straight stern ramp. In SNF service, a shore ramp was used to reach the upper vehicle deck. Before she enters service with Weidong Ferry, a hoistable internal ramp will be installed to connect the main and upper vehicle decks.

AKASHIA’s unique feature is her propulsion system: a single conventional propeller with an Azipod directly behind it. The concept was intended to gain maximum benefit from the contra-rotation of the Azipod propeller. Two Wärtsilä 12V46 main engines geared to the central propeller, plus two 12V46 gensets, give a combined output of 50,400 kW, sufficient for a service speed of 30.5 knots.

Weidong Ferry will not operate the vessel at such high speeds, however. She will replace NEW GOLDEN BRIDGE V on the Weihai–Incheon route. That ship was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 1997 and reaches her maximum operating age early next year.

The 30,322 GT NEW GOLDEN BRIDGE VII, built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) in 2018, has been out of service since June due to mechanical issues. She has a freight intake of 335 TEU plus capacity for 724 passengers. Weidong Ferry is understood to have won the concession to operate the potentially lucrative Shanghai–Incheon route, but details of the planned service have not yet been released.

© Shippax