Onorato Armatori’s double order at GSI officialised

© Marc Ottini

Onorato Armatori has confirmed to Shippax that the order for two 64,000gt luxury ro-pax vessels to be built by Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) has become effective.

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MSC pulls the plug on its West African ro-ro service

MSC COBALTO and MSC TITANIO will no longer serve MSC's WAF ro-ro service © Selim San

Blaming low freight rates and safety issues related to the transport of second-hand cars to West Africa, MSC has announced to pull the plug on its North Europe-West Africa (WAF) ro-ro operation, a fortnightly service that was started as recently as March 2018.

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BELGIA SEAWAYS becomes TROY SEAWAYS

The Danish-flagged BELGIA SEAWAYS has become the Turkish-flagged TROY SEAWAYS © DFDS

DFDS’s latest addition to its Mediterranean fleet, the 6,695-lanemetre Jinling-built BELGIA SEAWAYS, has been renamed TROY SEAWAYS ahead of her 22 June introduction for DFDS/U.N. Ro-Ro.

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Atlânticoline charters AQUA JEWEL in lieu of AZORES EXPRESS

Yet another summer stint in the Azores for AQUA JEWEL © George Koutsoukis

It appears that the time charter of the 1975-built AZORES EXPRESS for Atlânticoline’s summer service in the Azores has fallen through.

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Viking Line increases its Tallinn summer departures also this year

MARIELLA © Viking Line

Just as they have been doing since 2014, Viking Line will increase its capacity on the Helsinki-Tallinn route for the summer season between 14 June and 11 August.

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Torghatten Nord orders 29m catamaran from Oma Baatbyggeri

The vessel will be of the same design as the 2007-delivered JERNØY © Oma Baatbyggeri

Torghatten Nord has signed a newbuilding contract with Oma Baatbyggeri for the construction of a 29m catamaran with a capacity of 147 passengers. The passenger-only fast craft will be delivered in June 2020.

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BØMLAFJORD launched at Cemre

© Cemre Shipyard

Cemre Shipyard in Turkey has launched the 67.2m long BØMLAFJORD, the second in a line of five zero-emission double-enders built for Fjord1.

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Hurtigruten signs long-term LNG supply agreement with Gasnor

Hurtigruten is poised to become the greenest cruise line © Søren Lund Hviid

A long-term agreement, stretching to 2030, has been signed between Hurtigruten and Gasnor for the supply of Norwegian-produced LNG.

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Vard starts construction of third Hanseatic Class luxury expedition cruise ship for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises

HANSEATIC NATURE was delivered in April this year © Vard

Named HANSEATIC SPIRIT, the third unit in the Hanseatic series built by Vard for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises has officially started with the first steel cut.

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Canadian investment firm becomes 50% owner of Wightlink

Fiera Infrastructure Inc. has acquired a 50% equity interest in Wightlink from Basalt Infrastructure Partners LLP © Mike Hood

The Canadian infrastructure investor Fiera Infrastructure Inc. – a leading global mid-market direct infrastructure investor operating across all subsectors of the infrastructure asset class – has acquired 50% of the equity in the cross-Solent operator Wightlink from Basalt Infrastructure Partners LLP.

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ZHONG HUA FU XING launched at Huanghai Shipbuilding

ZHONG HUA FU XING will have cruise ferry amenities and boasts luxury cabins with bay windows © Huanghai Shipbuilding

Bohai Ferry Group’s 2,000-passenger and 3,000-lanemetre ro-pax ZHONG HUA FU XING with its striking whale livery took to the water at Huanghai Shipbuilding on 8 June.

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GNV AZZURRA serving as an accommodation vessel at Damen Shiprepair in Brest

GNV AZZURRA is temporarily serving as an accommodation vessel in Brest, France © Selim San

Ahead of the busy summer season, GNV’s GNV AZZURRA has been short-term chartered to serve as an accommodation vessel during SEVEN SEAS NAVIGATOR’s nine-day drydocking at Damen Shiprepair Brest.

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Inter Shipping prepares for the summer high season

GALAXY will operate on the Gibraltar Strait once again - this time for Inter Shipping © M. Lulurgas

Inter Shipping, the Moroccan ferry operator, has chartered the well-known GALAXY, to operate this summer between Tangier Med and Algeciras. She will join the MED STAR on the route competing with fellow Moroccan operator Africa Morocco Link (AML), and European operators Baleària, FRS and Trasmediterránea.

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Quo vadis La Méridionale?

La Méridionale might get the calls at Porto Vecchio and Propriano © Jean-Pierre Fabre

French media who have had access to the final tender documents due to be voted and approved by the Corsican Assembly later this month, report that La Méridionale is now also out of the game to operate the subsidised year-round Marseille-Bastia and Marseille-L'Île Rousse routes between 1 October 2019 and 31 December 2020. Bastia-Marseille represents the main freight corridor between the island and the French mainland.

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CMA CGM charters Godby Shipping’s MIMER

MIMER will replace sister ship MIDAS for CMA CGM inter-Caribbean service © Godby Shipping

Godby Shipping has time-chartered its ro-ro MIMER to French containership operator CMA CGM until December 2021 for the company’s twice monthly inter-Caribbean service.

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HERJÓLFUR leaves Poland’s Crist shipyard a year late

HERJÓLFUR was initially designed as a hybrid, but completed as a full-electric ferry © Peter Starenczak

Exactly 12 months after she was scheduled to be delivered to the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration’s (Vegagerdin), the compact ferry HERJÓLFUR left Poland’s Crist shipyard in Gdynia on 9 June, bound for Vestmannaeyjar.

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First steel cut for Seabourn’s expedition ship SEABOURN VENTURE

© Seabourn

On 6 June a steel cut ceremony was held at Italy’s T.Mariotti shipyard for what will become SEABOURN VENTURE, the first of two luxury expedition cruise ship’s ordered by Seabourn.

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Keel laid of Saga Cruises’ SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE

Sister ship SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY © Saga Cruises

Earlier this week, Meyer Werft in Papenburg laid the keel of SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE, the second bespoke boutique newbuilding for UK-based Saga Cruises.

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SunStone’s seventh Infinity Class earmarked for Aurora Expeditions

GREG MORTIMER during its launch 12 March at China Merchants Heavy Industry © SunStone Ships

The seventh Infinity Class expedition vessel to be built at the China Merchants Heavy Industries shipyard in Haimen for SunStone will join the Aurora Expeditions fleet when completed in fall 2021.

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Press Releases

Collaboration with Volvo trucks on autonomous transport between logistics centre and port terminal

DFDS has entered into a collaboration with Volvo Trucks concerning their electric, connected and autonomous vehicle Vera. The aim is to develop and test an integrated solution for transporting goods from a logistics centre to a port terminal in Gothenburg, Sweden, using Vera.

Jotun Signs Agreement with World's Largest Shipbuilder

Jotun has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the world’s largest shipyards for a new type of marine paint that reduces solvent emissions by up to 90 percent.

Palumbo Malta Shipyards wins scrubber retrofits of Corsica Linea

In a highly cyclical and volatile industry, being agile and proactive is key and Palumbo Malta Shipyards is leading the way to position itself as one of the leading European yard. Having justing finished the scrubber retrofit of 3 ro-ro passenger ferries from Minoan Lines (managed by Grimaldi), Palumbo Malta Shipyards has landed a second prestigious contract for another three vessels with a French shipping company – Corsica Linea, retrofits will start from December 2019 and will involve PASCAL PAOLI, JEAN NICOLI and PAGLIA ORBA; all vessels will be retrofitted with Ecospray's made, open loop type scrubber system.

ClassNK releases Guidelines for Ships Using Low-Flashpoint Fuels (Methyl/Ethyl Alcohol/LPG)

Classification Society ClassNK has released Guidelines for Ships Using Low-Flashpoint Fuels (Methyl/Ethyl Alcohol / LPG).

Tallink appoints Katre Kõvask as Head of Group International Shore Trade

Tallink Grupp has today announced the appointment of the former CEO of the Tere and Farmi Dairy Industry, Ms Katre Kõvask, as the company’s new Head of Group International Shore Trade from the end of August 2019.

Miros Speed Through Water: A Breakthrough in Accurate Speed Measurement to Optimise Fuel Efficiency

Whether the price of marine fuel is up or down, fuel costs will always be the biggest expense in operating a ship – as much as 50-60% of operating costs. No matter the cost, ever-tightening regulations demanding emissions reduction will continue to drive owners and operators to seek measures for reductions in fuel consumption and the resulting emissions.
Now Miros launches Miros Speed Through Water, a dry-mounted, radar-based system used to optimise hull speed with far greater accuracy than is possible with underwater measurement devices. 

Popular Tallink Spa & Conference Hotel and Tallink Express Hotel welcome guests with several major updates following large-scale renovations

Major renovation and construction works have been successfully completed in the two popular Tallink hotels in the Estonian capital - the Tallink Spa & Conference Hotel and Tallink Express Hotel. The works which began last autumn, were undertaken to modernise both hotels and to expand the ever popular Spa & Conference Hotel to having 300 hotel rooms.

Stena RoRo converts two vessels to SERTICA in only 5 weeks

Time is of the essence when Stena Roro decides to replace two existing systems onboard STENA FORETELLER and MONT VENTOUX with a new Fleet Management System.

Tallink pilots Smart Lane for passenger vehicles at port of Tallinn

Tallink Grupp has been piloting Smart Lane boarding from late April for Tallinn-Helsinki route passengers with passenger vehicles who have completed online check-in. At the moment, the option is available on selected departures and with bookings that have up to two passengers in one car.