SPIRIT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND back home after mid-life upgrade and conversion to LNG

SPIRIT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND seen leaving Gdansk following her upgrade and retrofit © BC Ferries

BC Ferries’ SPIRIT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND arrived back home today, 3 April, at the ferry operator’s maintenance facility in Richmond following her mid-life upgrade and conversion to dual fuel operation at Poland’s Remontowa Shiprepair in Gdansk.

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Tallink Grupp: passenger volumes down – cargo up during 1Q 2019

Six Tallink Grupp vessels were drydocked during 1Q 2019 which led to lower passenger and car volumes © Marko Stampehl

Tallink Grupp has released its passenger, car and trailer statistics for the first quarter of 2019: passenger and car volumes went down, cargo volumes went up.

According to the figures published, the group transported 1,855,772 passengers in the first quarter of the financial year 2019 (January-March), which is 3.9% less than in the same period last year. The number of passenger vehicles transported in 1Q 2019 also dwindled to 214,087, a 3.7% decrease on 1Q 2018.

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Inter Shipping charters MAESTRO UNIVERSE

MAESTRO UNIVERSE has been chartered by Inter Shipping for cross-Gibraltar Strait service © Frank Lose

Inter Shipping, the Moroccan ferry and ro-ro operator between Algeciras and Tangier Med, has chartered the 2,171-lanemetre capacity ro-ro MAESTRO UNIVERSE to replace sister ship MAESTRO SUN.

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Atlânticoline once again charters Greek tonnage for the summer season

Med Lines' (ex- Portucalence) AEOLOS photographed 1 April. Still some work to be done. © George Giannakis

The Azores-based Atlânticoline has again selected Greek tonnage to provide extra capacity during the busy summer season in this overseas Portuguese archipelago.

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Fleet changes for P&O Ferries on the North Sea

WILHELMINE has replaced ESTRADEN on the Europoort-Teesport route © J.J. Jager

P&O Ferries recently managed to charter CLdN’s 2,342-lanemetre WILHELMINE for the three times weekly Europoort (Rotterdam)-Teesport service, replacing the 2,270-lanemetre ESTRADEN which has joined 2,863-lanemetre BORE SONG on the Zeebrugge-Teesport route.

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JEAN DE LA VALETTE expected to head for Trinidad & Tobago for 12-month charter

JEAN DE LA VALETTE is expected to migrate to Trinidad & Tobago soon © Frank Lose

Virtu Ferries’ JEAN DE LA VALETTE – one of the largest high-speed ro-paxes in the Mediterranean – is expected to join Trinidad & Tobago by May 2019 to serve the sea bridge ferry system between the two Caribbean islands replacing the T&T EXPRESS which is suffering major technical issues and has been listed for sale.

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Armas-Trasmediterránea places VOLCAN DE TAGORO in the West Med

VOLCAN DE TAGORO will connect Gandía with Ibiza and Palma© Naviera Armas

Naviera Armas has announced that its soon-to-be-delivered 111m Incat VOLCAN DE TAGORO, will operate on the Gandía-Ibiza-Palma route, for subsidiary Trasmediterránea.

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Finance

Baleària grew its business in 2018

Baleària has released its 2018 financial results, showing growth in all sectors. The addition of new routes and higher fuel costs affected earnings though. Turnover increased by 5% and ended at EUR 381.4 million, while EBITDA fell by 14% and ended at EUR 70.3 million.

Press Releases

ABB, SINTEF and Fiskerstrand test fuel cells for the world’s first conversion of a hydrogen hybrid ferry

ABB and the SINTEF Ocean laboratory in Trondheim will assess how fuel cells and batteries can best function together for short-distance ferry operations, and how Fiskerstrand can integrate them with other engine room systems. The tests will also provide insight into the introduction of hydrogen fuel cells for future reviews of the rules covering shipboard use of hydrogen.

MAN Cryo Delivers LNG Fuel System to Italian Ferry

An Italian ferry with a marine LNG fuel-gas supply system has entered service. MAN Cryo – MAN Energy Solutions’ marine LNG fuel-gas-system manufacturer – installed the system aboard the ELIO at the Sefine Shipyard in Yalova, Turkey. ELIO is a double-ended RoPax ferry, designed by LMG Marin, for Italian shipowner, Caronte & Tourist. The MAN Cryo system will supply gas to the ferry´s three dual-fuel propulsion engines and which will primarily operate on the strait of Messina between the Italian mainland and the Sicilian city of Messina.

Carnival Corporation's OceanMedallion™ Receives Red Dot Award

Carnival Corporation announced its revolutionary OceanMedallion wearable has won the 2019 Red Dot Award for Product Design. Now in its 60th year, the Red Dot design competition attracted more than 18,000 submissions from designers and manufacturers from all over the world in 2019 with the product design category receiving more than 5,500 entries from 55 countries.

Norsepower joins Green Ship of the Future (GSF)

Norsepower is proud to have joined Green Ship of the Future (GSF), which seeks to explore the road towards emission-free maritime transport by ensuring more environmental and financially sustainable consumption within the shipping industry.

Marioff Receives VdS Approval for HI-FOG® Electric Pump Unit

Marioff announce that its HI-FOG Electric Pump Unit (EPU) is now VdS approved. The EPU represents revolutionary pumping technology for the high-pressure water mist fire suppression segment with an advanced control system, simplified mechanical design and optimized footprint. 

Meyer Turku Group’s good financial result fuels the ramp up of shipyard’s production

Meyer Turku Group key financial figures indicate a good steady growth for the shipyard company. Turnover grew from 808,2 million euros to 969,7 million euros with profit for the financial year of 2018 being 3,0 percent. The company is fuelling the current production ramp up with its profits. CEO of Meyer Turku, Jan Meyer, is pleased with the financial results.

Damen and Arriva extend ferry service from Copenhagen city centre to port area with two additional Damen Ferries 2306E3

Arriva Danmark has extended the requirements of its contract with Damen Shipyards Group in order to account for longer ferry routes in the city of Copenhagen. Arriva originally contracted Damen to deliver five fully-electric Damen Ferry 2306 E3 vessels to cover passenger routes in the central metropolitan area of Copenhagen. Since agreement of the contract in July 2018, Danish public transport agency Movia has extended the intended routes of its ferry service to the port area by roughly 50%.

Evac focusing in life-cycle services development

Evac aims to be a life-cycle partner to its customers in the marine, offshore and building industries. Related to this goal, Evac is now investing heavily in the development of its services.

Viking Line donates 50,000 euros to the Baltic Sea and switches to new, biodegradable plastic bags

Viking Line is donating 50,000 euros for environmental work in the Baltic Sea. The donation is being given to the Finnish environmental organization Keep the Archipelago Tidy Association and to the University of Helsinki’s marine biology research station in Tvärminne. The money comes from the sale of plastic carrier bags on the company’s vessels. The bags, which are produced in Merikarvia, Finland, are made from a mixture that includes recycled plastic, with part of this material coming from plastic recycling on board.

Viking Line seeks a project leader and a name for our new ship that will revolutionise the cruise concept

The new queen of the Baltic Sea is scheduled to begin cruising along the Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm route in two years. Today, we have initiated a recruiting campaign to find a creative project leader with language skills to assume responsibility for the launch of this new, innovative, climate-smart cruise ship. At the same time, we are conducting an open competition to name the new maritime queen.

LAVLE Developing Solid Electrolyte Battery Energy Storage For The Marine Market

LAVLE USA Inc. has announced that the company is developing the world’s first, large scale, Solid Electrolyte Battery (SEB) Energy Storage System (ESS) for the marine market. The company’s marine solution will utilize SEB cells supplied from its Japanese joint venture partner, 3DOM and application engineering expertise from its American joint venture partner, Ockerman Automation. 

Frame agreement for supply of BWMS for DFDS

DFDS and DESMI Ocean Guard have signed a frame agreement for supply of CompactClean Ballast Water Management Systems to the existing fleet of vessels of DFDS. The agreement covers more than 40 ferries to be retrofitted in the period from early 2020 until end 2024. Most of the vessels will be retrofitted with either a CompactClean-340 or a CompactClean-500 system, with max flow capacities of 340 m3/h and 500 m3/h respectively. A few vessels will be retrofitted with CompactClean BWMS with 750 m3/h or 1000 m3/h capacity.

Survitec thinks beyond compliance with dedicated global cruise team

As a part of a multi-million-dollar investment, Survitec has restructured its cruise business to provide a centralised, dedicated customer service, procurement, training and support hub. Survitec Global Cruise offers customised solutions for the cruise market. These solutions include innovative newbuild designs and revolutionary product developments, through life asset management programs, drydock solutions and project management, in addition to bespoke training programmes.

GONDAN Shipbuilders delivered a new GRP ferry

GONDAN Shipbuilders has just delivered a new ferrry for the shipowner Líneas Romero, DON JUAN R, built in GRP and with capacity for 340 passengers. The vessel, with 31 m  length and 9 m beam, can sail at a speed of up to 20 knots. It has has two cutting-edge technology 1400 hp diesel engines, which minimize emissions of polluting gases. It has been designed to guarantee comfort and reliability during navigation.

BC Ferries wins Shippax Award for converting SPIRIT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA to LNG

BC Ferries has won the Shippax Retrofit Award for completing the conversion of a large passenger ferry from diesel to liquefied natural gas (LNG). The award, received last month at the Shippax Ferry Conference, recognizes the innovative work performed on the SPIRIT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, which is among the largest passenger ferries ever to be converted to natural gas propulsion. It is also the first passenger ferry in the world to refuel LNG via delivery on a fully-enclosed vehicle deck.

Torqeedo provides electric propulsion for new VIKING LifeCraft™

Torqeedo has developed a specialized high-thrust electric propulsion system for VIKING’s revolutionary new LifeCraft™ survival craft, which are designed to speed safe evacuation of hundreds of passengers from ships at sea.

YSA Design delivers stylish slice of COSTA VENEZIA to China

A sizeable slice of Venetian style and chic will float into Asia’s flourishing cruise market next month, when COSTA VENEZIA reaches Tokyo after a 53-day maiden voyage from Trieste taking in Middle Eastern, Indian, South East Asian and Chinese ports. The brand new ship will then prepare for its regular cruising itinerary out of Shanghai, starting from May 18th.

Wasaline takes on the Carus Mobile App for smoother sailing

In order to make the trip even easier, Wasaline has released their new Mobile App. The application is developed by Carus, who also delivers Wasaline’s reservation and web booking systems. As part of the Mobile App project Wasaline updated their online booking system to Carus’ new Standard Web in order to make the process more user friendly.

Wight Shipyard Tracks Transit of VENUS CLIPPER with BareFLEET monitoring

Reygar, a provider of innovative remote monitoring and reporting platforms to the marine industry, has announced that specialist high-speed ferry builder, Wight Shipyard, has installed its BareFLEET monitoring system on the new Catamaran VENUS CLIPPER – the latest fast ferry built for MBNA Thames Clippers.

ClassNK Provides Support with the 2020 Sulphur Cap

Classification society ClassNK has developed “Guidance for onboard use of Compliant Fuel Oil with SOx regulation from 2020” and an implementation plan sample for switching to compliant fuel oil in order to support the industry in complying with the sulphur cap which will be enforced starting on 1 January 2020, requiring sulphur emission amounts to remain under 0.50%. ClassNK will also provide related appraisal services for the 2020 Sulphur Cap.

Rolls-Royce completes sale of commercial marine business

Rolls-Royce confirms that completion of the sale of the Commercial Marine business to KONGSBERG of Kongsberg, Norway, took place on 1 April. The completion of the transaction, which was announced on 6 July 2018, follows recent clearance from the relevant regulatory authorities. As announced on 17 January 2018, the naval marine gas turbine and USA based propeller operations of our former Marine business unit have already been consolidated within the Defence business.

ClassNK Releases its Cyber Security Approach

Classification society ClassNK has released the ClassNK Cyber Security Approach which outlines its basic approach to ensuring onboard cyber security for ships. It was released alongside its Guidelines for Designing Cyber Security Onboard Ships for newbuilding designs as the first part of the ClassNK Cyber Security Series which incorporates requirements for taking onboard cyber security measures.