P&O Ferries further reduces capacity and staff to weather the COVID-19 storm

PRIDE OF BRUGES will be laid up until further notice. Sister ship PRIDE OF YORK was already earlier withdrawn from service. © Frank Lose

To cope with the prevailing COVID-19 crisis, P&O Ferries is further taking action, resulting in another 300 employees to be furloughed with four more ships to be laid. The Dover-Calais service is reduced to two ships and the Hull-Zeebrugge ro-pax service is suspended, becoming a thrice weekly freight-only service.

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FSG about to file for insolvency

With a full order book in early 2018, the future of FSG looked promising. Two years on and the yard is to file for insolvency. © FSG

According to several reports in German media, Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) will be filing for insolvency shortly. FSG has so far not given any comment on these reports.

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Spanish COVID-19 update

CIUDAD AUTÓNOMA MELILLA has been laid up since 15 April. © Frank Heine

Operations continue on a freight-only basis on all major ferry services operating in Spain. With freight volumes declining, Trasmediterránea has taken the two ‘super-ferries’ CIUDAD AUTÓNOMA MELILLA and CIUDAD DE GRANADA out of service.

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Subsidy for all in move to maintain Greek island connectivity

Greece’s coastal shipping sector will need a monthly cash injection of up to EUR 30 million to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. © George Giannakis

All ferry routes in the Aegean Sea became subsidised services as of 21 April for a period of at least one month in order to safeguard the connectivity of the country’s islands with the mainland as well as the sustainability of coastal shipping companies to the utmost degree.

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Keel laying ceremony for second DFDS ro-pax

Keel laying with the obligatory coin ceremony. © DFDS

Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) in Nansha has laid the keel of what will become DFDS’s second next-generation ro-pax ferry for the Karlshamn-Klaipeda service.

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Bass Strait and Cook Strait ro-paxes operating at bare minimum

TT-Line Tasmania has cancelled Sunday sailings and is considering further reductions. © Dale Crisp

The Tasmanian government’s TT-Line and New Zealand government’s Interislander line are continuing their respective Bass Strait and Cook Strait services but with greatly reduced, freight-only sailings.

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CLdN pumps up Irish services

In a start-up phase, CLdN will utilise Kawasaki Class tonnage for the new weekly Zeebrugge-Cork service. © Frank Lose

Having already achieved an enviable market share of the Continent-Ireland traffic, CLdN is expanding both the frequency of services and adding the port of Cork to its schedule.

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HOLLANDIA SEAWAYS transferred to Gothenburg-Zeebrugge route

DFDS implemented a tonnage swap with HOLLANDIA SEAWAYS replacing BEGONIA SEAWAYS on the Gothenburg-Zeebrugge service. © Peter Guldager

DFDS has switched the 6,695-lanemetre HOLLANDIA SEAWAYS from its Gothenburg-Ghent to the Gothenburg-Zeebrugge route, replacing the 4,731-lanemetre BEGONIA SEAWAYS which is now operating on the Ghent service.

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P&O Ferries resumes Liverpool-Dublin service

NORBANK undertook berthing trials in Mostyn on 19 April, but is now back in service between Liverpool and Dublin. © Frank Lose

P&O Ferries and Peel Ports have reached an agreement over the payment dispute which led to the detention of P&O Ferries’ NORBAY in Liverpool on 16 April. P&O Ferries refrained to give any details and told Shippax it was pleased that normal service had been resumed with the 9pm sailing from Liverpool on Monday night.

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Westcon to convert three LNG-powered double-enders to electric-hybrid

MOLDEFJORD and two more sister ships will be converted to electric-hybrid propulsion by Westcon Yards. © Uwe Jakob

Fjord1 has chosen Westcon Yards in Florø to convert three LNG-powered MOLDEFJORD Class double-enders to electric-hybrid propulsion in a similar way to FANNEFJORD, the fourth ship in the series which was already converted to hybrid propulsion in 2015.

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Finance

Viking Line’s Q1 results affected by COVID-19

Viking Line released its Q1 financial report for the January-March period, which naturally was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Consolidated sales for the Group were EUR 75.0 million (EUR 95.8 million), while operating income totalled EUR -21.5 million (EUR -14.2 million).

DFDS covid-19 update and preliminary Q1 key figures: Freight operations continue. Passenger services restricted  

• Ongoing adaptation of operations to market conditions
• Solid financial position secured
• Strong focus on employee health and well-being
• Preliminary Q1 2020 EBITDA decreased 10% to DKK 610m

Wärtsilä's Interim Financial Report January-March 2020

• Order intake decreased by 12% to EUR 1,247 million (1,416)
• Order book at the end of the period decreased by 4% to EUR 5,745 million (5,977)
• Net sales increased by 2% to EUR 1,170 million (1,151)
• Book-to-bill amounted to 1.07 (1.23)
• Comparable operating result decreased to EUR 56 million (102), which represents 4.8% of net sales (8.9)

Torghatten 2019 result

The marine division of Torghatten reported a NOK 3.2 billion (NOK 2.6) revenue in 2019, with an operating result of NOK 560 million (NOK 453 million).

Press Releases

These press release news are published “as is”, i.e. this is how we get it from the senders. If you want to have your relevant news published, please send it to news@shippax.se

New Victorian home for Spirit of Tasmania

TT-Line Company Pty Ltd will move its Victorian port operations for Spirit of Tasmania from Station Pier, Port Melbourne, to Corio Quay, north of Geelong.

Wärtsilä to develop luxury cruise vessel design for polar and tropical cruise expeditions

The technology group Wärtsilä’s in-house ship design capabilities have been recognised with an order to develop a customised design for up to six new luxury expedition cruise vessels capable of carrying 200 passengers. The ships will be owned and operated by Amundsen Expeditions and are targeted primarily at the growing Chinese market. 

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company-survey findings revealed ahead of design of new vessel

There are generally high levels of satisfaction with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company over departure times, punctuality and ease of booking, a recent survey has found.
It has also established that a selection of lounges, a dedicated cafe area and more tables alongside standard seating are among the facilities passengers would most like to see on a new Steam Packet Company ferry.

Renowned Finnish interior design company dSign Vertti Kivi & Co to create the interior of the newest star of Tallink’s fleet, MYSTAR

The Estonian shipping giant Tallink Grupp and Finnish interior design company dSign Vertti Kivi & Co are, once again, cooperating on the interior design concept for Tallink’s newest vessel, the LNG-powered MYSTAR, which is built by the Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) shipyard. 

BIO-UV Group’s BWTS technology adapted to kill coronavirus on surfaces

The ultra-violet light technology used to kill the invasive species found in ships’ ballast water tanks can be used to protect seafarers, health workers and first-responders from picking up the coronavirus from surfaces.

Porto Santo Lines takes reservations and check-in to a new level with Carus

The most advanced maritime booking solution, CarRes, is now live on the Porto Santo Line, providing their clients with an even better travel experience.

Low Emission Incat Crowther Ferries Delivered to NYC Ferry by Hornblower

Incat Crowther is pleased to announce the successful delivery of the first two low emission EPA Tier 4 compliant 29m passenger ferries, named H401 and CURIOSITY, for the still expanding NYC Ferry by Hornblower. The Incat Crowther Digital Ship design package allowed identical vessel to be constructed at independent shipyards; Halimar Shipyard of Morgan City, LA and Breaux Brothers Enterprises of Loreauville, LA.

Sneak Peak Tour of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ENDURANCE

This month, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ENDURANCE would have been proudly welcoming guests aboard inaugural voyages in the Arctic and beyond. But her grand entrance had to be postponed.

Royal Caribbean Extends Global Suspension of Cruising

Given global public health circumstances, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has decided to extend the suspension of sailings of our global fleet through June 11, 2020.

RCL reduces workforce in response to pandemic

Earlier today, we told our employees the difficult news that we were laying off or furloughing approximately 26 percent of our more than 5,000 coworkers in the US.