I can’t remember the first time I covered the Worldwide Ferry Safety Association’s (WFSA’s) international student design contest for a safe, affordable domestic ferry, but our report on the 12th instalment of the competition in the June 2025 issue of The Naval Architect reminds me of the many winners that the dearly departed Ship & Boat International profiled over the past seven to eight years – to the point that the contest became an annual fixture of SBI‘s Ferries reports.
So, this year’s contest – the first to appear in The Naval Architect, in what I hope will become as regular a feature – saw Team Black Pearl of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology wow the WFSA judges with its design for a 200-pax aluminium catamaran, Naija Spirit, devised as a safe, affordable and eco-friendly ferry for the waterways of Lagos…and perhaps for other countries, including the team’s native Bangladesh.
It’s a shame we don’t have the space to feature the runner-up teams too; one could dedicate the best part of an issue to profiling most of the contest entrants’ original and innovative designs. What’s for sure: the WFSA’s annual contests demonstrate that skilled naval architecture is far from at risk of extinction. Anyone concerned about its future should follow these events closely: there’s no shortage of talent out there, and the WFSA deserves the utmost respect for encouraging students to get to grips with the processes of ferry design, from determining weight distribution, depth clearance and construction overheads, to assessing evacuation plans and financial/operational viability. Don’t miss the June issue for an in-depth interview with Team Black Pearl leader Md. Safayet Hossain Shishir, and a comprehensive overview of the winning design – published soon.
