Oki Islands association opens a yard proposal to replace Ferry Dozen

島前町村組合 announced on 30 September 2026 a public proposal to select a shipyard to design and build a replacement for the passenger and car ferry Ferry Dozen. The notice (opens in a new tab) is dated 30 September 2026. The ship is for the Kurii–Befu regular passenger route (来居–別府), route number 中国第406号, in Shimane's Oki district. The planned construction price is capped at ¥1,000,000,000, including consumption tax and local consumption tax. The yard must be able to finish trials and deliver the completed ship by 31 March 2029.

The association's basic plan (opens in a new tab), dated the same day, sets the necessary conditions. Gross tonnage is 499 tons or less. Length overall is under 50 m, length between perpendiculars is about 40 m, moulded breadth is about 10 m, moulded depth is about 2.8 m, and the planned full-load moulded draught is about 2.0 m. Passenger capacity is about 100. The outline specification in the same plan states that the passenger capacity shall be 100 and the crew capacity shall be 5. Vehicle capacity is about 14 passenger cars, each 4.5 m by 1.7 m, or two large vehicles and six passenger cars when they are mixed. The vehicle-deck clear height is 4.0 m or more. Bow and stern ramp doors have an effective width of 4.0 m and a length of 7.5 m, for a maximum vehicle weight of 25 tons. Service speed is 12 knots or more in the sea-trial condition. The main engines are two units of six cylinders and 749 kW or less, and two generator engines are required. Fuel for the main engines and the main generating engines is A heavy oil. The ship is for smooth-water service, with a planned passage of under 1.5 hours and of 5 nautical miles or more. It must be able to berth at Befu, Hishiura and Kurii (別府港, 菱浦港 and 来居港).

The yard's facilities for the build must be in Japan. The notice set participation documents as due on 16 October 2026. Technical proposals are due by 17:00 on 13 January 2027 and must arrive that day. A presentation and hearing is scheduled for 27 January 2027, and the date is marked as planned. The notice says the result will be sent in early February. The implementation guidelines (opens in a new tab) schedule that notice for 1 February 2027 and mark the date as planned. Scores are 20 out of 100 for price, 20 for ship performance, 20 for safety and convenience, 10 for maintenance, 25 for onboard comfort, and 5 for the proposal concept.