Attica signs agreement with Brødrene Aa for three next-generation ‘Aero’ passenger catamarans

Rendering of Attica Group's new Aero high-speed catamarans for Hellenic Seaways service. © Attica Group

Attica Group has signed an agreement with Norwegian shipbuilder Brødrene Aa for the construction of three 150-passenger high-speed catamarans that will follow the builder’s state-of-the-art ‘Aero Catamaran’ design.

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SILVER BREEZE takes to the water

SILVER BREEZE was launched by Naikai Zosen's Setoda shipyard on 27 January. © Kawasaki Kinkai Kisen Kaisha

Tsugaru Kaikyo Ferry’s 8,900grt SILVER BREEZE was launched at Naikai Zosen’s Setoda shipyard in the morning of 27 January. The 144.1m long and 23m beam ro-pax vessel will be introduced in June on the Kawasaki Kinkai Kisen Kaisha-controlled Silver Ferry connection between Hachinohe and Tomakomai.

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DFDS upgrades Cuxhaven route

As from 1 February, BRITANNIA SEAWAYS and sister ship SELANDIA SEAWAYS will offer six sailings per week between Cuxhaven and Immingham. © Christian Costa

With Channel routes now settling into a post-Brexit routine and the imminent arrival of the new 6,695-lanemetre SCANDIA SEAWAYS, DFDS is able to position two of its 2,772-lanemetre Italian-built ro-ros on the Cuxhaven-Immingham route, boosting the sailing frequency to six times weekly and offering a lower sailing time of 19 hours, compared with the present 24 hours.

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NORMAN ATLANTIC court verdict

Part of NORMAN ATLTANTIC's LSAs could not be used for evacuation on account of the fire. © Frank Lose

The Piraeus Court of First Instance found five people guilty on 27 January in the criminal trial of 11 Greek nationals over the deadly fire that broke out on one of the vehicle decks of the Italian-flagged NORMAN ATLANTIC ro-pax ferry on 28 December 2014.

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Sea Lines expands Black Sea operations

Sea Lines has time-chartered VASALAND for the three-to-four-times-weekly Karasu-Constanta route. © Marc Ottini

Following successful trial sailings performed by the SEA PARTNER last year, Black Sea ferry operator Sea Lines has announced the permanent addition of a second route, connecting Karasu in Turkey with Constanta in Romania.

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DROTTEN introduced on Dunkerque-Rosslare route – Brittany Ferries to add new direct France-Ireland connection

DROTTEN left Dunkerque for Rosslare for the first time in the early afternoon of 27 January. © George Giannakis

Rederi AB Gotland’s DROTTEN, the former GOTLAND, has been introduced on DFDS’s new direct France-Ireland route, having taken over from the Visentini Class OPTIMA SEAWAYS with the (delayed) 10:00 departure ex Dunkerque on Wednesday 27 January.

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SEAROAD TAMAR finds new owners

SEAROAD TAMAR has been acquired by Greek interests. © Dale Crisp

Tasmania’s SeaRoad Shipping has sold the 30-year-old Bass Strait ro-ro SEAROAD TAMAR to Greek buyers and the ship is believed to be headed for Mediterranean service.

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Rederij Doeksen introduces second LNG-powered lightweight ro-pax catamaran

WILLEM DE VLAMINGH has joined sister ship WILLEM BARENTSZ on services across the Wadden Sea. © Flying Focus

Dutch Wadden Sea ferry operator Rederij Doeksen has introduced its second all-aluminium LNG-powered ro-pax catamaran, the 3,744gt WILLEM DE VLAMINGH.

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GRANDE TEXAS joins Grimaldi Lines

GRANDE TEXAS will be followed by one more ship in the seven-ship series built by Yangfan. © Grimaldi Lines

The Yangfan shipyard in Zhoushan has handed over the 65,255gt PCTC GRANDE TEXAS to Grimaldi Lines. The second last ship in a seven-ship series built by the Chinese shipyard for the Neapolitan group, GRANDE TEXAS will join Grimaldi Lines’ weekly Mediterranean-North America service in March.

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VIKING GLORY floated out of building dock

VIKING GLORY was floated out of the building dock on 26 January. © Viking Line

Viking Line’s new 63,813gt ro-pax cruise ferry VIKING GLORY, which is due to enter service on the Stockholm-Åland-Turku route in late January/early February next year, was floated out of its building dock in the morning of 26 January.

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Glenhallen buys ro-ro IVAN and eyes second ship for the Italy-Libya trade

IVAN has a capacity of 1,079 lanemetres. © Shippax archive

Glenhallen Shipping, a Maltese company that is active in the Italy-Libya trade, announced the acquisition of the 1996-built IVAN, a 102.5m long ro-ro which it had already operated under charter for 18 months.

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STENA EMBLA introduced on Birkenhead-Belfast route

STENA EMBLA has now been introduced on the domestic Birkenhead-Belfast route which has seen a surge in freight volumes in recent days. © Stena Line

With the Visentini Class STENA HORIZON back in service on the Rosslare-Cherbourg route, Stena Line’s latest E-Flexer, the STENA EMBLA, has been withdrawn from the direct Ireland-France route and made her first commercial sailing between Belfast and Birkenhead (Liverpool) in the late evening of 24 January.

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ABB to power South Korea’s first domestic zero-emissions ferry

Busan Port Authority all-electric passenger ferry

ABB has secured a contract with Haemin Heavy Industries shipyard to provide a complete power and propulsion solution for Busan Port Authority’s first all-electric passenger ferry
The new ferry represents the first commitment by South Korean authorities to a plan which will see 140 state-owned conventionally powered vessels replaced with those operating on cleaner alternatives by 2030, in line with environmental legislation. Sustainable transportation, including marine vessels, will play an important role in South Korea’s plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, set out in the country’s Green New Deal, announced in 2020.

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New delayed delivery dates for HAVILA CASTOR and HAVILA CAPELLA

© Havila

Havila Voyages has confirmed that the first two ships in its fleet, HAVILA CASTOR and HAVILA CAPELLA, have been delayed and will be setting sail in Summer 2021. The ships were due to commence operations early in 2021.

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Norsepower installs first tiltable Rotor Sails on Sea-Cargo Ro-Ro

SC CONNECTOR © Geir Berntsen

Norsepower Oy Ltd., has successfully installed two 35m tall Rotor Sails for SEA-CARGO, a leading logistics provider in the North Sea market. This installation heralds the world’s first tiltable Rotor Sail, showcasing that vessels that have to negotiate height restricted routes can benefit from this fuel and emissions-saving solution.

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EcoPilot reduces fuel consumption and emissions on Tallink ISABELLE

As part of its ongoing program to increase fuel efficiency, Tallink Grupp has installed Qtagg’s EcoPilot system on the cruise ferry ISABELLE. EcoPilot is a voyage optimization tool incorporating autonomous speed and power control as well as weather routing. The software controls the propulsion machinery to arrive on time at lowest total cost. The unique feature of EcoPilot is that it manages the entire voyage by calculating an optimum power plan and executing it automatically, with little or no manual intervention. The verified results on Isabelle have been a reduction of 7% in fuel consumption and emissions.

UK Chamber of Shipping signs Neptune Declaration

The UK Chamber of Shipping, the voice of the UK shipping industry, has joined global industry and human rights leaders, including A.P. Møller - Mærsk, BP, BW, Cargill, COSCO, DOW, Euronav, MISC, NYK, Rio Tinto, Shell, Trafigura, Unilever and Vale, in signing the Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change in a worldwide call to action to end the unprecedented crew change crisis caused by COVID-19.

Go west to take unaccompanied freight by sea, says Brittany Ferries

A growing number of haulage companies are shipping goods using unaccompanied trailers. Brittany Ferries says demand is rising, and the ports it serves on the western Channel in France and the UK are best set-up to receive these driverless loads. It believes more companies will look west in the months to come, and it has urged hauliers and logistics companies to get in touch via the website https://www.brittanyferriesfreight.co.uk or by calling +44 (0)330 159 5000

Wärtsilä’s Financial Statements Bulletin January–December 2020

HIGHLIGHTS OF JANUARY–DECEMBER 2020
• Order intake decreased by 18% to EUR 4,359 million (5,327)
• Order book at the end of the period decreased by 14% to EUR 5,057 million (5,878)
• Net sales decreased by 11% to EUR 4,604 million (5,170)
• Book-to-bill amounted to 0.95 (1.03)
• Comparable operating result decreased by 40% to EUR 275 million (457), which represents 6.0% of net sales (8.8)
• Earnings per share decreased to 0.23 euro (0.37)
• Cash flow from operating activities increased to EUR 681 million (232)
• Dividend proposal 0.20 euro per share (0.48)

Orlando Ashford appointed incoming Executive Chairman of Azamara

Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm, announced that Orlando Ashford has been appointed as the incoming Executive Chairman of Azamara, the upmarket, boutique cruise line dedicated to Destination Immersion® experiences. Ashford’s appointment will become effective upon the completion of Sycamore’s acquisition of Azamara, which is expected to occur in Q1.

PORT OF KIEL can nearly maintain its cargo transhipment volumes

A total of 6.92 million tons of cargo has been transhipped in the seaport of Kiel in 2020. This figure represents only a slight decrease of 1.2 % compared to the previous-year period. In contrast to a decrease of volumes in the Scheerhafen and at the Norwegenkai Terminal, there has been growth in the Ostuferhafen and at the Schwedenkai.

New shoreside power system reduces carbon emissions at the Port of Gothenburg

The Gothenburg Port Authority has been working for a long time to encourage ships calling at the port to connect to the shoreside power system when at berth instead of keeping their engines running. The shoreside power system is currently undergoing tests at yet another quay, which means that even more ships will be able to connect to shoreside power within a few weeks. There is the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 650 tonnes per year.

BioHiTech Receives Approximately $2 Million in New Food Waste Digester Orders for 14 Ships from Carnival Cruise Lines and Princess Cruises

BioHiTech Global, a sustainable technology and services company, announced it has received approximately $2 million in new Revolution Series™ food digesters purchase orders for 12 Carnival Cruise Lines ships and 2 Princess Cruises ships. BioHiTech expects to fulfil the orders through the second quarter of 2021.

Celestial Cruises Announces Partnership with Versonix

Celestyal Cruises, the award-winning, number one choice for cruise travelers to the Greek Islands and the Eastern Mediterranean is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Versonix, a leading software company dedicated to providing fully-integrated, customized software solutions for the travel and leisure industry.

DFDS creates leading provider of cold chain logistics

DFDS has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of HSF Logistics Group. The company is one of Europe’s leading cold chain logistics providers to meat producers and other food producers that operates temperature-controlled supply chains.
The Group operates four brands with HSF Logistics a leading brand in the Netherlands, Germany and the UK. N&K Spedition and Skive Køletransport are leading brands in Denmark and Scandinavia, together constituting around half of the revenue of the Group. Eurofresh is a brand focused on the German market.

DNV GL awards AIP to KSOE for wing sail propulsion system

DNV GL has awarded an Approval in Principle (AIP) to Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (KSOE) for a wing-sail auxiliary propulsion system for ships - the result of a joint research project between KSOE and SK Shipping. The virtual award ceremony recently took place in the presence of Hyunjoon Shin, Head of the Future Ship Research Department of KSOE, Haeyong Son, Vice President of SK Shipping, and Sung Ho Shin, Key Account Manager of DNV GL Korea.

DFDS A/S: DFDS expands logistics offering in Sweden with new warehouse in Borås

DFDS has today entered into an agreement to lease a new 34,560 sqm warehouse in Borås, Sweden, that is an attractive Scandinavian logistics hub area close to Gothenburg.
The new warehouse will expand DFDS’ contract logistics offering that today is focused in Gothenburg. The additional capacity will make it possible to grow with existing industrial customers and attract new customers.

Wärtsilä participating in EU-funded project to decarbonise long-distance shipping

The technology group Wärtsilä, as part of a consortium led by the University of Vaasa in Finland, will play a major role in an important project aimed at reducing the environmental impact of shipping. Project CHEK – deCarbonising sHipping by Enabling Key technology symbiosis on real vessel concept designs, has been granted funding of EUR 10 million by the EU as part of its Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

The freight volumes broke new records in Scandinavia’s largest RoRo port in Trelleborg

Despite an ongoing pandemic, the freight volumes in Scandinavia’s largest RoRo port reached new record levels in 2020 and increased by almost 2 percent compared to 2019. From week 26 to week 53, the Port of Trelleborg has had great numbers with an average increase of 11.1 percent compared to the same period in 2019, and the upward trend looks set to continue.