Tallink Grupp temporarily discontinues selling cruises for Tallinn-Stockholm route

BALTIC QUEEN is one of two cruise ferries guaranteeing Tallink's daily Tallinn-Mariehamn-Stockholm overnight service. © Christian Costa

The rapid Coronavirus spread in large parts of Europe has prompted Tallink Grupp to stop selling cruise tickets, i.e. return tickets, for its Tallinn-Stockholm ferries from 13 March until 1 May 2020.

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Jadrolinija acquires two more double-enders

© PHO

Two months after having acquired FAROS, the former STELIOS FILIAGKOS, Jadrolinija has bought another two Greek-built double-ended ferries.

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BAIE DE SEINE ends Brittany Ferries charter

BAIE DE SEINE didn't obtain the new Brittany Ferries logo due to the pending end of her charter from DFDS. © Marc Ottini

The 2003-built ro-pax BAIE DE SEINE has completed her last commercial sailing under the Brittany Ferries banner today, 13 March, following her morning arrival in Le Havre from Portsmouth.

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Baltic ferry operators start to feel effects of the Coronavirus pandemic

Tallink Silja is negotiating with the trade unions as layoffs may occur due to the Coronavirus crisis. © Marko Stampehl

Finnish media report that Tallink Silja is in the process of negotiating with the trade unions what steps can be taken to deal with the situation caused by the Coronavirus. It is not yet known what actions will be taken, but it is understood that layoffs may occur.

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Princess Cruises to temporarily sideline its 18 cruise ships

Princess Cruises is suspending its cruise activities for 60 days. © Søren Lund Hviid

Hot on the heels of Viking Cruises’ announcement to suspend river and ocean cruise operations until 1 May, Carnival Corporation-controlled Princess Cruises has announced that in proactive response to the unpredictable circumstances evolving from the global spread of COVID-19, it will equally voluntarily pause global operations with almost immediate effect for a period of two months.

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Flying start for Stena Line’s new Halmstad-Grenaa route

STENA NAUTICA is now sailing out of Halmstad instead of Varberg. © Joakim Leihed

Since its start early last month, passenger bookings for Stena Line’s Halmstad-Grenaa have surged by up to 50% compared to the same period last year when the service to Grenaa operated from Varberg.

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SETTSU debuts for Hankyu Ferry

SETTSU has replaced YAMATO on Hankyu Ferry's four-ship Shinmoji-Kobe route © Mitsubishi Shipbuilding

Shin Nihonkai Group-controlled Hankyu Ferry has introduced its brand-new 16,300grt ro-pax ferry SETTSU on the Seto Inland Sea. The 195m long and 29.6m beam ferry left Kitakyushu (Shinmoji) for Kobe in the evening of 10 March.

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STENA EDDA introduced

STENA EDDA has joined STENA MERSEY on the Birkenhead-Belfast route. © Stena Line

STENA EDDA, Stena Line’s second E-Flexer, performed her first commercial sailing when she left Birkenhead (Liverpool) for her overnight sailing to Belfast in the evening of 9 March.

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Construction of VIKING GLORY continues, delivery delayed

VIKING GLORY is now expected to be delivered in summer 2021. © Viking Line

According to Finnish broadcasting service YLE, work on Viking Line’s newbuilding at Xiamen Shipbuilding has slowly re-commenced after the break due to the Chinese New Year in January and the subsequent closure of the shipyard caused by the quarantine of many shipyard workers at their hometowns in view of the Coronavirus outbreak.

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Condor Ferries sale finalised

Brittany Ferries is a minority shareholder in Condor Ferries. © Philippe Holthof

The sale of Channel Islands ferry operator Condor Ferries to a partnership between Columbia Threadneedle European Sustainable Infrastructure Fund (ESIF) and Brittany Ferries has been completed.

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COVID-19 further affects international Japanese ferry services

NEW CAMELLIA operates between Fukuoka (Hakata) and Busan. © Tsuyoshi Ishiyama

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) already affected passenger ferry services between China and Japan. With a two-week quarantine being imposed on visitors from China and South Korea entering the country, passenger services connecting Japan with South Korea have also come to a standstill.

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Worrying times for Naviera Armas Trasmediterránea

© Philippe Holthof

Naviera Armas Trasmediterránea, Spain’s largest ferry group, is facing liquidity problems. In an article published in the Spanish press today, 6 March, it was revealed that the value of the group’s bonds had crashed to 56% of face value, and that some bond holders, such as Deutsche Bank and BlackRock, had tried to dispose of their holdings, but that there were few takers.

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Press Releases

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Jotun announces revolution in proactive hull cleaning with ground-breaking Hull Skating Solutions

Jotun, a world leading provider of marine coatings, announces the launch of Hull Skating Solutions (HSS), a break-through in proactive cleaning, offering shipowners an always clean hull in the most challenging operations.

Holland Shipyards Group to supply five fully-electric ferries to GVB

After taking delivery of the IJveer-60 series, GVB, Amsterdams municipal public transport provider, has awarded Holland Shipyards Group a contract to build five new fully-electric ferries which will be operating in the North Sea Canal area. The first ferry is expected to enter service in 2021, the delivery of the last ferry will be in 2023.

Viking Line: Change in business performance outlook for the financial year 2020

As a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19), operating conditions in our markets have deteriorated significantly. It is still too soon to quantify the impact on results since there is great uncertainty regarding developments. Therefore, our earlier business performance outlook no longer applies.

Gibdock momentum builds on variety

High levels of occupancy during the first two months of 2020 and strong forward bookings are sustaining momentum for Gibdock, following a strong surge in demand for the Gibraltar repair yard in the last quarter of 2019.

Norled Appoints New CEO Heidi Wolden

Norled, one of the largest ferry and express company in Norway announces the appointment of a new CEO, Heidi Wolden. She succeeds Ingvald Løyning who stepped down from the role of CEO in February.

Costa Cruises reviews its itineraries in Italy to respect government containment measures

Following the new measures introduced last evening by the Italian Government in an effort to contain the health emergency on the national territory, Costa Cruises has reviewed the itineraries of its ships calling at Italian ports up to April 3.
"As an Italian company and the only cruise operator flying the Italian flag, we are committed to guarantee compliance with the regulations and support to the Italian authorities and the community in this extraordinary effort to face the current situation of emergency" said Neil Palomba, President of Costa Cruises.

C-Job Naval Architects to open new office in Athens, Greece

C-Job Naval Architects is opening a new office in Athens, Greece. The global independent ship design and engineering company is planning to launch the new office this spring, headed by long-time ‘C-Jobber’ Nikos Papapanagiotou.

The Grimaldi Group transports the new wagons of the Naples underground

The Grimaldi Group has been entrusted with the transportation of the new wagons that will enhance the Naples metro fleet. Just last night, the first six units arrived in the port of Naples on board the ro-ro vessel EUROCARGO ROMA, which had left from the Spanish port of Sagunto on 8 March.

i4sea signs up as new Certified Inmarsat Fleet Data Application Provider

Brazil-based startup i4sea and Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications, have signed an agreement for i4sea to join the fast growing group of certified application providers to provide a dedicated application for Inmarsat’s Fleet Data service.

Thermal cameras start operating at the Old City Harbour

Port of Tallinn cares about the health of the passengers and therefore, as a preventive measure against coronavirus, thermal cameras to scan arriving passengers for fever will be used in passenger terminals A and D.

P&O Ferries launches second rail line to double train capacity at its Europoort hub

P&O FERRIES today announces the doubling of its rail capacity at Europoort with the launch of a second line into its terminal at the continental hub.

Wärtsilä Vessel Traffic Management System upgrading will bring safety and efficiency benefits to Indian port

The technology group Wärtsilä will upgrade its Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) installed in the Indian port of Cochin. The system was originally delivered in 2008, and by adding the latest technology, significant additional benefits can be gained. The order with Wärtsilä was placed in February 2020 by the Cochin Port Trust (CoPT).

UECC and GoodFuels team up!

Short sea ro-ro operator UECC and sustainable marine biofuel pioneer GoodFuels have launched a joint trial of GoodFuels Bio-Fuel Oil (MR1-100 or BFO) on UECC’s ro-ro vessel AUTOSKY, the companies have announced.

CDP, Eni and Fincantieri collaborate on energy transition and environmental sustainability

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), Eni and Fincantieri confirm their shared commitment on the energy transition path to decarbonisation and environmental sustainability: today, the companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop joint circular economy projects to identify and implement technical solutions to confront the issue of marine litter, which affects the marine and coastal ecosystem due to floating plastic waste and microplastics.

University of Turku and Meyer Turku Increase Collaboration in Engineering

The University of Turku and Meyer Turku Oy have signed a strategic partnership agreement with the objective to develop and strengthen education and research in engineering.