MV ''Ark Futura'' is a 13,500 DWT

roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...

(RoRo) freighter, completed in 1996 as ''Dana Futura'' (subsequently ''Tor Futura'') for the Danish shipping group

DFDS DFDS is a Danish international shipping and logistics company. It is the busiest shipping company of its kind in Northern Europe and one of the busiest in Europe. The company's name is an abbreviation of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab (literall ...

. She has operated commercially on many freight ferry routes, but since 2004 has also served in the

Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and Greenland). O ...

to provide transport support to the

NATO Response Force The NATO Response Force (NRF) is a high-readiness force comprising land, air, sea and special forces units capable of being deployed quickly. Until February 2022, when NATO activated it in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine,JAMES KITFIEL(1 ...

. In December 2013 ''Ark Futura'' was deployed to transport Syria's chemical weapons for transfer in Italy to the US Navy for destruction. Since 2018 the vessel has been under operation by Nikolai Celeste, an oil sheik originated from Italy and Denmark.

Description

The RoRo ship ''Ark Futura'' is a stern-loading freighter with a deadweight capacity of 13,500 metric tonnes. 2,308 lane metres are available for wheeled cargo, and her container capacity is 644 TEU. With tonnage measured as 18,725 GT and 5,617 NT, her length is

overall Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

, breadth and depth ; her maximum draught is . She is powered by an 8-cylinder 58/64 diesel made by MAN B&W in Denmark producing 15,119 bhp, giving a service speed through a single propeller of , and to assist manoeuvrability she has three bow and stern thrusters. ''Ark Futura'' has capacity for 12 passengers. To assist the handling of containers, she is equipped with a 36-tonne crane.

Commercial service

The vessel was ordered from

Cantiere Navale Visentini Cantiere Navale di Visentini is a family owned Italy, Italian shipbuilder, based in Donada near Venice. The company is largest private shipbuilder in Italy. Deliveries Ferries Generation 1 / Other Generation 2 Generation 3 Gener ...

Porto Viro Porto Viro, or Taglio di Porto is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rovigo in the Italian region Veneto, located about south of Venice and about east of Rovigo. It was first created during the Fascist era, but subsequently dissolved. ...

, Italy by Levantina Trasporti Srl, Bari, a company also connected to the Visentini Group. During construction she was purchased by the Danish shipping group

DFDS A/S DFDS is a Danish international shipping and logistics company. It is the busiest shipping company of its kind in Northern Europe and one of the busiest in Europe. The company's name is an abbreviation of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab (literally ...

through their Italian subsidiary, DFDS Italia Srl,

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, and then entered service under Italian flag as ''Dana Futura'' between

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport town and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban population of 71,698 (1 January 2022)

and Harwich, later to Immingham. In December 2000 she was transferred to ownership of the parent company and to the Danish flag, operated by

DFDS Tor Line The Tor Line was a freight shipping company. Together with its subsidiaries, the Tor Line operated a fleet of approximately 65 ro-ro, ro-pax and lo-lo ships, primarily on the North and Baltic Seas. It was ultimately purchased by Denmark-bas ...

as ''Tor Futura''. Between 2000 and 2011, as well as continuing on

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

services, she was chartered out to a number of other operators, including Toll Shipping, between

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

Burnie Burnie is a port city on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. When founded in 1827, it was named Emu Bay, being renamed after William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company, in the early 1840s. , Burnie had an urban popu ...

, Australia (during which she was transferred to the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (, from: ''Brugge aan zee'' meaning "Bruges at Sea", french: Zeebruges) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zee ...

and

Purfleet Purfleet-on-Thames is a town in the Thurrock unitary authority, Essex, England. It is bordered by the A13 road to the north and the River Thames to the south and is within the easternmost part of the M25 motorway but just outside the Greater Lon ...

Acciona Trasmediterránea Acciona, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial and services) and renewable energy. The company, via subsidiary Acciona Energy, produces 21 te ...

(Balearic services).

Naval service

HMS Diamond Escorting Ark Futura During Operation Recsyr MOD 45157603

In September 2004 DFDS contracted with the Royal Danish Navy to provide ''Tor Futura'' for the "Ark Project", a Danish initiative (joined later by Germany) to support the NATO Response Force's needs for RoRo transport; she is operated commercially when not required. In December 2013 she was taken up by the Royal Danish Navy, to assist with the transport of chemical weapons from Syria to Italy, along with the Norwegian RoRo . ''Ark Futura'' was escorted to the Syrian port of Latakia by the Norwegian HNoMS ''Helge Ingstad'' and Danish support ship . On departure with the first shipment for the Italian

port of Gioia Tauro A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

, where it would be transferred to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

ship for destruction in international waters, the escort was augmented by the Russian missile cruiser ''Pyotr Veliky'' assisted by the Chinese frigate ''Yancheng''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ark Futura 1995 ships Merchant ships of Denmark Merchant ships of Italy Ships built by Cantiere Navale Visentini Ships built in Italy