Celebration tour for converted motor ship
The wonderfully named MS Caring & Amazing will host 38 parties for 15,000 C&A employees on its first tour following conversion.
European clothing chain C&A has marked its 100th birthday by converting a 40 year old inland motor ship into an event and party boat and sending it on a 5,000 km celebration tour of German rivers and canals.
The 80m long and 9.5m wide Otrate has been renamed MS Caring and Amazing by the Düsseldorf based concern ahead of the three month promotional tour which began in August. The vessel was built in 1972/73 as Gertrude at the Gustavsburg Shipyard in Mainz and bought by Helmut Rüffer in 1992, repaired, modernised and renamed Otrate.
A Europaship Type 1 Otrate carries 1,531 tons of diverse cargo which can include containers, coal, building materials, steel products and, more recently, cement and paper products. Immediately prior to conversion for C&A, it also carried wind energy turbines for assembly between Bremen and Bremerhaven/Emden.
The owners say the vessel was driven by a KHD 1,000hp 707kW Deutz diesel, providing 18 km/hour in calm water, fully laden. It also boasts a 380 hp, 220kW Scania bow thruster and four auxiliary power units of 20 to 35 kVA.
It is easy to see why Otrate is so suitable for conversion to an event ship. The 51.25m long and 7.4m wide, double hulled cargo bay, up to 4m high, is uncluttered and has a capacity of some 1,350 m3.
The conversion, which entailed extensive interior and other work, was carried out in Minden Westphalia by the shipyard Schiffbau Rosemeier. The ship was out of the water for two months.
The concept and conversion was managed by event agency 37 Grad Büro, which is also managing the whole tour. Some 15,000 C&A employees are visiting the ship at 38 parties being held in major cities including Berlin, Hamburg and Duisburg. Agency 37 Büro MD Stephan Ullmann said, “We’ve done plenty of roadshows on inland ships, but this type of project is a unique one for us. It’s a big responsibility”.
By Tom Todd
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