GNV ORION delivered to GNV

Lead ship in the series, GNV POLARIS. GNV ORION looks different aft due to higher number of cabins © GSI

Second in the now six-ship series, GNV ORION, has been delivered from the Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) shipyard to GNV. GNV ORION, which will serve between Genoa and Palermo from June, is 218-metres long and has a capacity for 1,700 passengers in 433 cabins and 3,080 lanemetres of freight.

GNV recently exercised its options for number 5 and 6 in this series of ships from GSI, with options for two more.

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Torghatten Nord takes delivery of HINNØY, Norway’s largest fully electric ferry

HINNØY © Cemre Shipyard

Turkey's Cemre Shipyard has delivered NB 1091, a battery-operated ferry for Norway's Torghatten Nord AS. Designed by The Norwegian Ship Design Company, the 117m double-ender ferry HINNØY will carry 399 passengers and 120 vehicles on the route between Bognes and Lødingen in northern Norway. The 9.2 MWh battery system will provide a crossing time of one hour at a speed of 13–14 knots.

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SOUTH ENABLER completed sea trials ahead of its May delivery

SOUTH ENABLER © Visentini

Wallenius SOL announced that SOUTH ENABLER successfully completed her sea trials on 12 April 2025 in the Adriatic Sea. Built by Visentini Shipyard and designed by NAOS Ship and Boat Design, SOUTH ENABLER is set to replace the vessel ML FREYJA in Mann Lines traffic. She will primarily serve the route Turku – Paldiski – Bremerhaven – Zeebrugge – Tilbury – Cuxhaven – Turku.

The new ship has a loading capacity of 3,004 lane metres plus 196 cars on two car decks. It has an overall length of 203.4 metres and is powered by two methanol-ready Wärtsilä engines of 7,200 kW each, making it capable of a speed of 22 knots. It is RINA classed and built to Ice Class 1A.

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DFDS March 2025 volumes

DFDS' March 2025 volume numbers are compared to 2024 impacted by the Easter holiday period falling in April this year compared to March in 2024. In general, this increases freight volumes and decreases passenger volumes compared to March 2024.

Ferry – freight: Total volumes in March 2025 of 3.8m lane metres were 4.1% above 2024 and up 3.6% adjusted for route changes. For Q1 2025, the growth rates were -0.2% and -0.5%, respectively.

Ferry – passenger: The number of passengers in March 2025 was 46.3% below 2024 and down 29.5% adjusted for route changes. For Q1 2025, the growth rates were -27.4% and -12.1%, respectively.

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IMO approves net-zero regulations for global shipping

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has achieved another important step towards establishing a legally binding framework to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships globally, aiming for net-zero emissions by or around, i.e close to 2050. The IMO Net-zero Framework is the first in the world to combine mandatory emissions limits and GHG pricing across an entire industry sector.

Approved by the Marine Environment Protection Committee during its 83rd session (MEPC 83) from 7–11 April 2025, the measures include a new fuel standard for ships and a global pricing mechanism for emissions.

These measures, set to be formally adopted in October 2025 before entry into force in 2027, will become mandatory for large ocean-going ships over 5,000 gross tonnage, which emit 85% of the total CO2 emissions from international shipping.