***Shippax domestic ferry operators webinar 18 March***

Shippax invites you to its third webinar, being hosted in the afternoon of 18 March (CET 14:00-15:00).

Operating domestic ferries during COVID-19 and beyond

Domestic ferry operators are also early adopters of new technologies and fuels - the following speakers will sit on the panel:

-        ­Serge Buy, CEO, Canadian Ferry Association (CFA)

-        Øyvind Lund, CEO, Bastø Fosen

-        Axel Meynköhn, MD, Wyker Dampfschiffs-Reederei Föhr-Amrum GmbH

-        Mediterranean domestic ferry operator: to be confirmed

Moderators:

-        Philippe Holthof, Editor-in-Chief, Shippax

-        Frederik Erdmann, correspondent, Shippax

We welcome questions for the panelists which can be sent to conference@shippax.se. Please be informed that we will have to make a selection of these questions and cannot guarantee that all questions will be treated.

More details will follow.

We look forward to welcoming you at this next webinar!

DFDS to increase capacity on Dunkerque-Rosslare route

Starting on 1 April, ARK DANIA will be added as a fourth ship on DFDS's Dunkerque-Rosslare route. © Jens Vinderslev-DFDS

In response to customer demand, DFDS is adding a fourth ship on its direct France-Ireland freight service on 1 April, leading to an increase in the number of weekly departures between either port from six to eight.

READ THE FULL STORY

Newcomer United Seaways announces new direct Poole-Tangier Med ro-ro service

The port of Poole might welcome a new direct weekly ro-ro service to Tangier Med. © Poole Harbour Commissioners.

Start-up operator United Seaways is to begin a weekly direct ro-ro service between the south coast UK port of Poole and Tangier Med in Morocco, in a move to help bypass post-Brexit traffic congestion and additional import procedures for goods arriving into the UK from Europe.

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Sea Lines suspends new Turkey-Romania ro-ro service

The new Karasu-Constanta line lasted for two weeks only, but Sea Lines is determined to find a solution and restart the service in a few months' time. © Marc Ottini

Blaming “unsustainable heavy administrative burden and unforeseen costs”, Black Sea ferry operator Sea Lines has pulled the plug on its new Karasu (Turkey)-Constanta (Romania) ro-ro service which it had started with the time-chartered 2,170-lanemetre VASALAND as recently as 3 February.

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ECO LIVORNO arrives home

Named on 2 March by Nicoletta Landi, the spouse of the mayor of Livorno, Luca Salvetti, ECO LIVORNO will make her first commercial sailing from Livorno on 3 March. © Grimaldi Lines

Following her 25-day delivery voyage from the Nanjing Jinling Shipyard in Yizheng, China, ECO LIVORNO – Grimaldi Lines’ third GG5G Class mega freighter – arrived in Livorno in the afternoon of 1 March.

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Fayard completes NORRÖNA upgrade

A better-looking and upgraded NORRÖNA left Fayard in Munkebo in the late afternoon of 1 March. © Peter Therkildsen

Fayard has completed NORRÖNA’s near-three-month upgrade which saw the installation of 50 new luxury cabins and a panoramic café at the base of the funnel, among other improvements made to the 2003-built ro-pax ferry.

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HAMAYU takes up service

On 2 March, HAMAYU arrived for the first time in a snow-covered Otaru. © Tsuyoshi Ishiyama

The just-delivered HAMAYU has been temporarily introduced on Shin Nihonkai Ferry’s Maizuru-Otaru route, replacing HAMANASU and AKASHIA which will be retrofitted with exhaust gas scrubbers.

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FRS to resume Motril-Melilla

FRS will operate the Incat 86m TARIFA JET between Motril and Melilla. © Frank Lose

FRS has announced that it will resume the line between Motril and Melilla, commencing on 5 March. The company’s website has only posted schedules for March and part of April, suggesting that changes may be made.

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GREENFERRY I debuts on Brunsbüttel-Cuxhaven route

A misty 1 March: the first day of Elbferry with GREENFERRY I at the linkspan in Cuxhaven. © Christian Costa

On 1 March, Elbferry re-opened the River Elbe ferry shuttle service between Brunsbüttel and Cuxhaven, using the 212-car/28-truck and 589-passenger capacity LNG-powered double-ender GREENFERRY I.

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Rederi AB Gotland plans new Sweden-Germany ro-pax service

The planned Nynäshamn-Rostock route might be operated by Rederi AB Gotland's SF 1500 Class tonnage. © Frank Lose

In a move to remove more road freight from Sweden’s roads and bring Sweden closer to Continental Europe for both freight and passengers, Rederi AB Gotland is planning to start a new ferry service between Sweden and Germany.

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Fjord Line takes delivery of FJORD FSTR.

FJORD FSTR. was handed over on 26 February. © Austal

Fjord Line’s new Auto Express 109m high-speed ro-pax catamaran FJORD FSTR. was delivered from Austal’s shipyard in Balamban, Cebu, the Philippines, 26 February.

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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

The innovative ELEANOR ROOSEVELT from Baleària performs the first sea trials in Gijón

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT © Baleària

Baleària and the Armon shipyards in Gijón are currently conducting the first sea trials of the ELEANOR ROOSEVELT fast ferry, which will be the first in the world with natural gas-powered engines. The construction of this ship enters its final phase with these tests that test and calibrate the propulsion and navigation equipment, among others. Thus, the tests confirm the excellent operating conditions of the ship, both in terms of speed and behavior at sea.

READ THE FULL STORY

Pioneering British company, Windship Technology powers first True Zero Emission ship design with high performance rig technology

© Windship Technology

Windship Technology, a British True Zero Emission company for the shipping industry, can confirm the findings from the Wolfson Unit of the University of Southampton following a detailed study into its innovative and patented triple wing rig.
After extensive testing and VPP work conducted at the Wolfson Unit and further Computational Fluid Dynamics and aerodynamic performance optimisation conducted by Cape Horn Engineering, it has been confirmed that an appropriately rigged commercial vessel will achieve savings of fuel and corresponding emissions at a conservative 30% per annum via the rigs alone.

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River Ems Conveyance of ODYSSEY OF THE SEAS

ODYSSEY OF THE SEAS River Ems Conveyance © Meyer Werft

The cruise ship Odyssey of the SeasODYSSEY OF THE SEAS for the American cruise line Royal Caribbean International (Miami) is scheduled to leave Papenburg on Saturay, 27 February 2020, and be conveyed on the Ems to Eemshaven (NL). From there, the ship will set off for technical and nautical sea trials in the North Sea. The delivery of the ship is planned for the next few weeks and will take place in close cooperation with the cruise line.

READ THE FULL STORY

EQT Infrastructure now owns Molslinjen

Following the approval of the competition authorities in the EU, EQT Infrastructure is now the formal owner of Molslinjen. At the same time, Danske Sampension will be a new minority investor in Molslinjen. In addition, experienced industry experts join the company's board.

AS Tallink Grupp Statistics for February 2021

In February 2021 AS Tallink Grupp transported 74 129 passengers, which is an 88.9% decrease compared to February 2020. The number of cargo units decreased by 24.1% to 26 407 units and the number of passenger vehicles decreased by 75.2% to 18 642 units in the same comparison.

KfW IPEX-Bank finances two E-Flexer RoPax ships for Stena

KfW IPEX-Bank and the Swedish-based international shipping company Stena have signed a loan agreement of USD 180 million to finance two new E-Flexer RoPax ferries. The ships, which are designed to carry flexible “rolling” (Ro) cargo such as trucks and trailers, as well as passengers (Pax), are among nine new vessels ordered by Stena from China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Weihai). The Chinese export credit agency Sinosure covers the loan. A significant proportion of the ferries’ equipment comes from suppliers in Germany and Europe.

New refinancing for Fjord Line

The restrictions from the government, in light of the covid-19 pandemic, has hit Fjord Line hard. Owners, loaners and governments have helped secure future operations for the second time during the covid-19 pandemic for the ferry company Fjord Line. This ensures that Fjord Line can continue to build on the strong position Fjord Line had before the covid-19 pandemic.

Tallink Grupp files legal action against Port of Tallinn

AS Tallink Grupp has filed a legal action against AS Tallinna Sadam (Port of Tallinn) at the Harju County Court with a claim in the total amount of EUR 15.4 million. With the action Tallink Grupp is demanding that the Port of Tallinn reimburses the company a part of the excessively high fees that were paid for the port services in the Old City Harbour (Tallinna Vanasadam). According to the Estonian Competition Act, an undertaking having a dominant position on a goods market is prohibited from directly or indirectly establishing or applying unfair purchase or selling prices or other unfair trading conditions.

Royal Caribbean Group, in collaboration with the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the National Strategic Research Institute, release study on cruise ship HVAC system

Independent study by University of Nebraska Medical Center and the National Strategic Research Institute on board one of the world’s largest cruise ships examines air flow, and movement of particulate matter indoors
Scientists found that the risk associated with transmission of airborne particles between spaces, through the HVAC system, is exceptionally low and undetectable both in the air and on surfaces
This study is part of broader recommendations put forth by the Healthy Sail Panel, a group of industry-leading public health experts, to ensure a healthy and safe global return to sailing.

Viking Line to arrange unique cruise between Helsinki and Turku this summer

In July, Viking Line’s vessels will sail from Helsinki to the host ports for the Tall Ships Races and to the Rockoff Festival in Mariehamn, which will feature, among others, the popular Swedish musical artist Tomas Ledin.

Sterling PlanB Gains DNV GL Type Approval Certification for Preventing Thermal Runaway

Marine and industrial energy storage expert, Sterling PlanB (SPBES) has announced that it is now fully certified under new 2020 class rules for commercial vessel batteries set out by classification society DNV GL.
As an early adopter of the certification, SPBES becomes one of the first energy storage solutions (ESS) providers to adhere to the new testing standard, which substiantially mitigates the risk of the spread of fire by eliminating the propogation of thermal runaway within a battery module.