Brittany Ferries to charter another E-Flexer from Stena RoRo – the first E-Flexer to be LNG-powered

Brittany Ferries will long-term bareboat charter a second E-Flexer from Stena RoRo for its services from Portsmouth to Spain. Delivery from the AVIC Weihai shipyard is expected between fall 2021 and summer 2022. The 42,200gt ro-pax – which will fly the French flag – will be chartered for a ten-year period (with purchase option) and will be specifically adapted to Brittany Ferries’ requirements.

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Naviera Armas gets green light for Trasmediterranea takeover

Family-controlled Naviera Armas has been given the green light by the Spanish competition authorities to take full control of Trasmediterranea, Spain’s premier ferry operator in which it already held a minority stake following the company’s 2002 privatisation. 

In late October 2017 Acciona reached an agreement to sell its 92.7% stake in Trasmediterranea to Naviera Armas Group – a deal worth EUR 387.7 million. The approval took longer than expected but the decision is a logical one since there were virtually no overlaps between the activities of Armas and Trasmediterranea. The takeover might see some form of consolidation as Armas will possibly discontinue the Motril to Melilla line and the Huelva-Canaries route.

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More details revealed about the Trasmediterranea takeover by Armas

As Shippax reported on 23 May, the Spanish National Commission on Markets and Competition has ruled in favour of the proposed acquisition of Trasmediterranea by Naviera Armas. More details about the approval have meanwhile emerged.

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Steel cut and name revealed for P&O Cruises 2020 newbuild

On 24 May, P&O Cruises revealed that the name for its 183,000gt LNG-powered cruise ship will be IONA, the name of an Island on the Scottish west coast. The first steel cut has also been made at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg on 25 April.

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Financials

Tallink Grupp extends listing to the Helsinki Stock Exchange

A secondary listing of AS Tallink Grupp’s shares is planned for the Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange, a decision made this week by the Group’s Supervisory Board based on a proposal from the Group’s Management Board.

FJORD1 2018 first quarter financial results show strong growth

Revenue for the quarter ended at NOK 719.8 million, a 12% increase compared to the same quarter last year (NOK 641.2 million). EBITDA margin for the quarter was 30%, slightly down from 31% last year. In real terms the EBITDA before Special Items amounted to NOK 217.8 million, up from NOK 201.3 million last year.

AS Tallink Grupp 2018 first quarter financial results

The Group’s unaudited revenue for the first quarter decreased by 3.9% to a total of EUR 184.2 million. Unaudited EBITDA for the first quarter was EUR 4.2 million (EUR 5.3 million in Q1 2017) and unaudited net loss was EUR 19.6 million (net loss of EUR 20.3 million in Q1 2017).

Port of Heysham’s timely digitalisation of ro-ro port terminal

The ro-ro terminal at the Port of Heysham is the hub for a large part of the freight that travels between north-west England, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man. Three ferry companies transport 265,000 freight units through the terminal each year. Port of Heysham awarded to Hogia the contract to supply a terminal operating system to digitalise the management of freight transport through the terminal thereby increasing the terminal’s efficiency and throughput, while at the same time reducing stress and increasing job satisfaction in staff.

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The municipality of Halmstad sets SEK 126 million aside for new Stena ferry terminal

The municipality of Halmstad unanimously voted to set SEK 126 million aside for the new ferry terminal to be built in Halmstad when Stena Line will move its Grenå service from Varberg to Halmstad next year, an investment that will materialise after the signing of a ten-year contract with Stena Line.

The new ferry terminal will be built on basically the same place where the Stena Line terminal used to be until Stena Line’s (formerly Lion Ferry’s) Halmstad-Grenå service was axed in early 1999. Everything should be up and running by 1 October next year, making for a smooth transition as the concession in Varberg ends on 30 September.

There will be two departures each day, operated by the 1,265-lanemetre/900-passenger STENA NAUTICA. A second ship might be added in the long-term and the municipality of Halmstad will take the necessary steps to anticipate a further growth.  

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Fire-damaged FINLANDIA SEAWAYS arrives at Fayard for major repairs while “positive talks” start on new ro-pax service between Zeebrugge and Rosyth

DFDS’s 1,891-lanemetre ro-ro FINLANDIA SEAWAYS arrived on 22 May at Danish repair yard Fayard in Munkebo under tow from Immingham, to undergo major fire damage repairs to her engine room, sustained while on her regular service between Zeebrugge and Rosyth in mid-April.

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Grimaldi Lines opens new Italy-Spain MoS

The Grimaldi Group has started a new twice weekly freight-only route connecting its Civitavecchia hub with Valencia, using the 3,810-lanemetre EUROCARGO BARI and EUROCARGO ROMA.

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Rosmorport issues tender for the construction of a new rail ferry for the Kaliningrad service

State-owned Rosmorport has issued a tender for the construction of a EUR 70 million cargo rail ferry for the Ust-Luga - Baltiysk route linking the Saint Petersburg area with the Kaliningrad exclave.

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Spanish and Norwegian yards to build Havila Kystruten’s four newbuilds

Havila Kystruten, the Norwegian company that recently won the ten-year ‘Kystruten’ concession together with Hurtigruten, has released more details about the four coastal ferries it will introduce as from 1 January 2021.

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Finferries and Rolls-Royce sign agreement to optimise ship safety and efficiency

Finferries, the state-owned Finnish ferry operator running 44 routes throughout Finland, together with Rolls-Royce just announced that they have signed an agreement to collaborate to develop strategies and solutions for optimised safety and efficiency of marine operations through the development of technologies for decision supporting systems and to demonstrate autonomous and remote ferry operations.

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