FRS to start Sassnitz-Ystad high-speed service in September

FRS is investing EUR 15 million in the Sassnitz-Ystad high-speed service and will operate FJORD CAT. © Frank Lose

Förde Reederei Seetouristik (FRS) has confirmed that it will start a Sassnitz-Ystad high-speed ferry service on 15 September, filling the gap left by Stena Line after the permanent closure of its passenger-oriented Sassnitz-Trelleborg route.

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CalMac and NorthLink Ferries services set to return to normal timetables, but with reduced passenger capacity

HROSSEY and sister ship HJALTLAND operate the daily Aberdeen-Orkney/Shetland routes. © Frank Lose

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced on 18 June that the country was moving carefully to Phase 2 on the Route Map out of COVID-19. In response to this news, Paul Wheelhouse, Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands, and Transport Scotland has issued details of a return to normal timetables for CalMac and NorthLink Ferries services, albeit, with reduced passenger capacities on the ferries.

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Boreal orders five all-electric passenger ferries at Sefine Shipyard

Boreal's five passenger-only double-enders for the Ruter service in the inner Oslofjord. © Boreal

Norwegian ferry operator Boreal has ordered five 350-passenger all-electric ferries from Turkish shipbuilder Sefine Shipyard, with the 35m x 8m vessels being used on the company’s new inner Oslofjord service from November 2021.

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Remontowa Shipbuilding delivers FESTØYA to Norled

FESTØYA will be introduced on the Festøya-Solavågen route. © Remontowa Shipbuilding

Remontowa Shipbuilding has handed over the 114.4m-long and 17.7m-beam battery plug-in ferry FESTØYA to Norled.

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Viking Line’s entire fleet to be back in service as of 2 July

MARIELLA is the last of Viking Line’s ro-pax cruise ferries to leave its layup berth and re-enter passenger service. © Kenny Leong

As the company announced today, Wednesday 24 June, Viking Line’s MARIELLA will start sailing between Helsinki and Tallinn as of 2 July. The 1985-built ro-pax cruise ferry will perform two daily roundtrips, complementing the schedule of VIKING XPRS.

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Astilleros Armon launches TEREVAU PITI

TEREVAU PITI will join the high-speed catamaran TEREVAU next year. © Terevau/SNGV2

Vigo, Spain-based Astilleros Armon launched the 77m-long and 17m-beam TEREVAU PITI on 23 June. The EUR 28 million ro-pax is under construction for Terevau/SNGV2 of French Polynesia, being designed by MAURIC, the naval architects who are also behind Atlânticoline's 43m-long Armon-built ferries.

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Brittany Ferries to resume passenger services

PONT-AVEN will be re-introduced on services to Spain on 30 June. She will also operate between Plymouth and Roscoff and between Roscoff and Cork.© Maritime Photographic

As from Monday 29 June, Brittany Ferries will resume limited passenger services, initially operated by five of its vessels. MONT ST. MICHEL, CAP FINISTERE and KERRY remained in service during the lockdowns, carrying freight only, and will be joined by flagship PONT-AVEN and ARMORIQUE as from next week.

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Keel laying of Wallenius SOL’s first 1A Super Ice Class ro-ro

Keel-laying ceremony of Wallenius SOL’s first LNG-powered, 5,800-lanemetre capacity ro-ro on 22 June. © CIMC Raffles

Almost three months after the first steel cutting, the Yantai CIMC Raffles shipyard has laid the keel of the first 5,800-lanemetre 1A Super Ice Class short-sea ro-ro under construction for Wallenius SOL.

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HANIL GOLD STELLA delivered to Hanil Express

HANIL GOLD STELLA will be introduced between Yeosu and Jeju on 29 June. © Hanil Express

Dae Sun Shipbuilding has delivered the 160m-long HANIL GOLD STELLA to South Korean domestic operator Hanil Express.

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Morocco shuts borders to OPE traffic

AML operated a three-ship fleet last year - MOROCCO SUN is still in Piraeus and so is AMMAN, the charter of which has not been officially announced yet for this summer. © Frank Heine

The Moroccan government has announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, preparations for the OPE (Crossing of the Straits) have not been able to take place, and as a result, together with borders not yet officially opening in various countries, the OPE will not take place this year.

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Five CMV cruise vessels detained by the MCA

ASTORIA is one of five CMV cruise vessels detained by the MCA. © Maritime Photographic

Five cruise ships out of six operated by UK cruise line Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) were detained in two British ports on 19 and 20 June, being prevented from sailing due to contravention of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) following inspections by the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

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Brittany Ferries and SOMANOR confirm cancellation of HONFLEUR contract

Brittany Ferries has confirmed the annulation of the HONFLEUR contract. © Frank Behling

As already reported 18 June, Brittany Ferries has annulled the contract for HONFLEUR, the 42,200gt Ouistreham (Caen)-Portsmouth ro-pax ferry under construction at Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG).

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FRS returns the VOLCAN DE TAUCE, Baleària increases sailings

VOLCAN DE TAUCE will return to Armas service, presumably between the Canary Islands. © Frank Heine

The VOLCAN DE TAUCE was the vessel chartered by Naviera Armas to FRS, to allow FRS to operate a service between Motril and Melilla, a route that Naviera Armas had to vacate as part of the agreement when acquiring Trasmediterránea.

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Brittany Ferries cancels contract for HONFLEUR

The cancellation of the HONFLEUR contract doesn't come totally unexpected. © Frank Behling

Brittany Ferries has cancelled the EUR 200 million contract with Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) for the design and construction of the 42,200gt HONFLEUR. The dual fuel ro-pax ferry was ordered in June 2017 with delivery scheduled for June 2019.

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Press Releases

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Kongsberg Maritime and Incat shake hands on inaugural contract for delivery of large-size waterjets

Kongsberg Maritime (KM) is pleased to announce a milestone order which will see the company making its first delivery of large-size waterjets to Incat, Tasmania-based designers and builders of high-speed, environmentally-efficient wave piercing catamaran ferries.

Kongsberg digital in new partnership with Lloyd's List Intelligence

Kongsberg Digital announces partnership with Lloyd’s List Intelligence to offer shipping and maritime intelligence on the Kognifai Marketplace.

CLIA Announces Voluntary Suspension of Cruise Operations from U.S. Ports

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) issued the following statement to announce that the association’s ocean-going cruise line members will voluntarily extend the suspension of cruise operations from U.S. ports until 15 September 2020.

Voith presents innovative electric Voith Schneider Propeller

With the new electric Voith Schneider Propeller (eVSP), Voith is pushing ahead with the continuous electrification of its proven drive technologies, thus meeting the growing demand for resource-saving and energy-efficient mobility as well as future-oriented mobility concepts. Among the advantages of the new eVSP are high efficiency and the reduction of complexity, since the permanent-magnet synchronous motor is already integrated in the propeller. The complete omission of gears reduces noise to a minimum and frees up critical space on the ship.

Scottish Government amends rules on seafarer quarantine rules after letter from UK Chamber of Shipping

The UK Chamber of Shipping has welcomed the decision by the Scottish Government to amend regulations so Scottish seafarers no longer have to isolate for 14-days when returning to Scotland for more than 14 days of leave.

Wasaline introduces Digital Keys via the Wasaline Mobile App

Wasaline's new ship is the first ferry in the world to install ASSA ABLOY Digital Key technology for all its cabins. Passengers will be able to open their cabin directly from their mobile phone using Wasaline's mobile app. It's easy to use and secure enough to share the key with family and friends.

EUROPA 2’s cold ironing connection is certified

The EUROPA 2 has had its cold ironing connection certified by the classification society DNV GL. This certification is the result of testing its undisrupted use and compatibility of cold ironing. This is the first time a cruise ship has been using cold ironing for a long period of time. The compatibility of the cold ironing connection at the Cruise Center in Altona was adjusted by HPA, as the small EUROPA 2 requires a lower voltage than the other cruise ships that are using cold ironing there. The settings can be easily duplicated any time the luxury ship makes a stop at the port in future. The EUROPA 2 has been successfully using cold ironing at the Cruise Center Altona in Hamburg for the past 30 days and was able to save a total of 600 tons of carbon dioxide. All new ships in the fleet are equipped for cold ironing.

Stena RoRo has delivered the night ferry A NEPITA after a record-breaking conversion

In just under three months, Stena RoRo has converted the former Stena Superfast X day ferry into a night ferry, which under the name A NEPITA is to operate on the Marseille – Corsica – North Africa route. She has been freshened up, repainted, given custom furnishings, many more cabins and outfitted with hybrid scrubbers. The new customer is the French shipping company Corsica Linea.

Two-in-one solution trounces 'tandem machine' approach

Mulling a drive-train investment for a newbuilding or vessel upgrade? You might have been considering two motors running in tandem, but in my opinion there’s a much better way to save fuel, space and weight. Ville Parpala, Director, Product Marketing, Yaskawa Environmental Energy / The Switch, explains why separate power drives feeding one larger machine with multiple windings provides a competitive alternative.

WinGD drives sustainable dual-fuel engine performance with X-DF2.0 technology

WinGD has unveiled a new technology designed to slash methane emissions and cut fuel consumption in its X-DF dual-fuel engines. The launch of Intelligent Control by Exhaust Recycling (iCER) is the first development to be introduced as part of X-DF2.0, WinGD’s second-generation dual-fuel engine platform.

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding to Collaborate with Shin Nihonkai Ferry in Development and Verification of Unmanned Ship Navigation System

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, in collaboration with Shin Nihonkai Ferry Co., Ltd., has successfully applied for grant aid under the "Joint Technological Development Programme for the Demonstration of Unmanned Ships" sponsored by The Nippon Foundation. With this support, the two companies will commence co-development of underlying technologies and systems to enable unmanned ship navigation in the future. The resulting prototype system will be installed on a vessel to be operated by Shin Nihonkai Ferry and undergo verification via demonstration testing in Japanese coastal waters.

Carnival Cruise Line Extends Operational Pause Through September 30

Carnival Cruise Line advised guests and travel agents that it has extended its operational pause in North America through Sept. 30, 2020.

DFDS-Enhanced management focus in Channel and Passenger

New Head of BU Channel will be Filip Hermann, who will take over from Kasper Moos when he moves back to Denmark to lead the new BU Group Passenger, including the Copenhagen – Oslo, Frederikshavn – Oslo and Amsterdam – Newcastle routes.

Cruises Investment Holding, Royal Caribbean Group to Reorganize Pullmantur Joint Venture

Cruises Investment Holding and Royal Caribbean Group ("RCL") said they have filed for the reorganization of their Pullmantur Cruceros joint venture ("Pullmantur", "the Company") under the terms of Spanish insolvency laws.

Attica Group implements specific and effective infection prevention measures certified by Bureau Veritas

The Bureau Veritas label ‘SAFEGUARD’ demonstrates that on each of Attica Group’s vessels specific procedures are being implemented to address COVID-19 related biological risks, aiming at safeguarding human health.

Environmentally friendly on a long voyage

It is a special vessel, which will leave the port of Emden at about 10 pm this evening. With more than 4,800 new vehicles on board, the SIEM CONFUCIUS is setting out on a three-week voyage to Mexico for the first time. On the way there, it will call at ports in Canada and the USA. It is not the numerous vehicles that make the transport so unique though. The fuel is unusual: The SIEM CONFUCIUS runs on liquid natural gas (LNG), which burns much cleaner than conventional fuels. This is better for the air and better for climate protection.

World record held for 30 years

Thirty years ago, a ship built in Hobart by Incat Tasmania, HOVERSPEED GREAT BRITAIN, challenged for the coveted Hales Trophy which recognises the fastest commercial passenger ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The 74 metre HOVERSPEED GREAT BRITAIN left New York on her Transatlantic Challenge voyage arriving in at Bishop Rock on England’s south coast on 23rd June 1990. The crossing achieved in 3 days, 7 hours and 54 minutes.

Carnival UK Names Simon Palethorpe as President

Carnival UK, whose P&O Cruises and Cunard brands are part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), announced that Simon Palethorpe has been named as president, Carnival UK, expanding his current role as president of Cunard.

Carnival Corporation & plc Names Josh Weinstein as Chief Operations Officer

Carnival Corporation & plc announced that Josh Weinstein has been named chief operations officer, effective immediately.

Tallink’s vessel ROMANTIKA to offer direct sailings from Riga to Saaremaa and Åland this July

Tallink Grupp has announced that it will operate two special return trips to new destinations directly from Riga this summer, to Åland islands in Finland and Saaremaa island in Estonia, offering travellers opportunities for exciting daytrips in new and amazing destinations.

Tallink adds more departures to Tallinn-Turku route for late July and early August

The new temporary Tallinn-Turku route launched for this summer and only announced Monday, 15 June, has turned out to be so popular this week that Tallink Grupp has decided to add six more departures to this route in late July and early August. The group’s vessel BALTIC QUEEN will operate on this route and will operate for a further three weeks between the two cities on the route according to the new plans.