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sandra

Jul 21
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Turnover at Port of Cork Company up 21%

By 2023 Newsletter week 28
  • Turnover at the Port of Cork Company increased by over 21% last year to €48.4 million. That compares to a turnover of just under €40 million in 2021.
  • The company’s profits also increased by just under 18%, with an operating profit of €9.16 million, up from €7.78 million the previous year.
  • The company’s annual report shows that the Ports of Cork and Bantry reported a total consolidated traffic throughput of 10.2 million tonnes in 2022, slightly lower than in 2021.
  • The number of container twenty-foot equivalent units increased slightly, mainly due to the commencement of new Con-Ro services linking Ringaskiddy directly with Europe.
  • Imports of trade cars and dry bulks also increased which all offset small declines in liquid and break bulk traffic.
  • Brittany Ferries returned to normal pre-covid trading levels with 117,000 passengers and added a second weekly service from Cork to Roscoff.

Conor Mowlds, Chief Commercial Officer at the Port of Cork said 2022 was a significant year for the port. “Following a strong financial year, we are now in a better position to progress vital additions to our infrastructure – including upgrades to our cargo handling fleet and port facilities,” he added.

Jul 21
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Bornholmslinjen sets a record in H1

By 2023 Newsletter week 28

2023 has started well for the Bornholmslinjen route between Rønne and Ystad. Never before have there been so many people on the ferries as in the first six months of this year.

756,991 passengers have travelled with the ferries in the first six months (+4.5%)

The progress on Ystad – Bornholm was expected, as this season offers sailing with both the world’s largest fast ferry, EXPRESS 5, and with EXPRESS 1 – and the traffic has set several records during the first half of the year and especially during the spring mini-holidays.

Last year in 2022, a total of 1,721,949 travellers travelled back and forth between Rønne and Ystad.

Jul 07
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Three-year extensions to key ship charters reinforce P&O Ferries’ commitment to North Sea routes

By 2023 Newsletter week 27

P&O Ferries extended with 3 years the charter agreement with Bore Ltd on the RoRo vessels NORSKY and NORSTREAM, maintaining its presence on the Zeebrugge-Teesport and Zeebrugge-Tilbury routes for the long term.

P&O Ferries also reinforced its commitment to the Zeebrugge-Teesport route through a separate extension of the FINNPULP charter agreement with Finnlines. The RoRo vessel will continue serving the route on two midweek sailings a week.

Jul 07
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The Port of Odense and Fayard are expanding their collaboration with a new 30-year agreement

By 2023 Newsletter week 27

Fayard A/S and Odense Havn A/S have per 1 July 2023 entered into an agreement on the extension of Fayard’s involvement in the Port of Odense. The parties have entered into a 30-year non-cancellable lease agreement, in which Fayard has secured the right to dispose of the unique shipyard facilities at the Port of Odense for the next three decades.

Fayard is one of Northern Europe’s largest repair yards and services, among other things, container ships, passenger ferries, tankers, military vessels and a large number of other ships. Fayard has a central position in the green transformation of shipping in relation to energy optimization of ships as well as upgrades and retrofits of the existing world fleet

Jul 07
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Tallink Grupp statistics for June 2023 and Q2 2023

By 2023 Newsletter week 27

In June 2023:

-1.3% passengers, driven mostly due to chartering of vessels (less capacity)

-24.9% freight units

+5.1% passenger vehicles

In Q2 2023 (April-June)

-0.7% passengers: the decrease was driven mostly due to chartering of vessels including SILJA EUROPA and GALAXY I that transported more than 250,000 passengers Q2 of 2022.

-22.0% freight units

+5.0% passenger vehicles

FINLAND–SWEDEN

  • The second quarter Finland-Sweden results reflect the operation of the Helsinki-Stockholm and the Turku-Kapellskär route. The cruise ferry GALAXY I stopped operating on the Turku-Stockholm route in September 2022 due to a charter contract.

ESTONIA–FINLAND

  • The second quarter Estonia-Finland results reflect operations of shuttle services of MYSTAR and
  • The cruise ferry SILJA EUROPA stopped operating on the Tallinn-Helsinki route in August 2022 due to a charter contract.
  • The shuttle vessel STAR has been chartered out since 5 May 2023 and is operating under the OSCAR WILDE name between Ireland and the United Kingdom.
  • The cargo vessel SEA WIND was sold in April 2022.

ESTONIA–SWEDEN

  • The second quarter Estonia-Sweden results reflect the operations of the Tallinn-Stockholm and the Paldiski-Kapellskär route by one cruise ferry and two cargo vessels.
Jul 07
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SeaJets submitted an improved proposal for the acquisition of ANEK Lines

By 2023 Newsletter week 27

On June 30, 2023, SeaJets, Kiara Shipping and Golden Step Shipping Ltd submitted a new improved proposal to the Piraeus Bank for the acquisition of ANEK Lines.

[see last week’s news: Surprise: SeaJets submitted a proposal for the acquisition of ANEK Lines]

According to the new letter, which was also sent to ANEK Lines and its Creditors and Shareholders:

  • The three companies proposed an increased offer at EUR 83 million, under the same terms of payment.
  • In terms of transparency, they proposed a loan of EUR 55 million secured by first marine mortgages on ships with a commercial value of EUR 138 million (coverage rate of 250.9% of the loan). The remaining EUR 28 million will be paid from equity, which is immediately available and certainly reduce the Bank’s exposure.

In addition to the increased offer, the letter mentions a few arguments as a response to the Bank’s objections. Among other things it is stated that:

  • Until approval is given by the Competition Committee, the “implementation” of the Attica transaction, which the bank claim is in progress, is illegal.
  • It is already known to the public that the proposed Attica “transaction” raises significant competition issues based on the initial views of the Competition Committee.
  • The formulations adopted in the Bank’s response raise many questions and lead to the conclusion that the Bank is acting and arguing as the buyer of ANEK Lines rather than as a representative of its Creditors.
  • SeaJets proposal does not contain a due diligence clause, as it is inaccurately stated in the Banks’ answering letter. On the contrary, the Bank acknowledges that due diligence was carried out by Attica Group and information was provided to Attica Group, even though ANEK is a listed company. This constitutes privileged information and leads to an audit of the related stock market transactions to date.
  • SeaJets proposal ensures not only the competition but also a greater return for the Bank’s own loans.
  • The view that SeaJets proposal does not “meet the necessary criteria to constitute a viable credit risk” is not substantiated.
  • The three companies are willing to immediately engage in direct discussions with each one of the informants to avoid misunderstandings and await a prompt action.

Source: ANEK, 3 July 2023 (in Greek)

Jul 07
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Shipping set for €3 billion-plus 2024 EU ETS bill

By 2023 Newsletter week 27

The European Union’s Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (EU MRV) dataset for shipping’s European CO2 emissions for the year 2022 has been published, with the data highlighting some significant year-on-year changes from 2021 despite the shipping industry as a whole showing a modest reduction in emissions.

The EU MRV regulation requires all ships exceeding 5,000 gross tons to collect and report data on CO2 emissions released to and from EU and EEA ports and will serve as the basis for shipping’s inclusion in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) from 1 January 2024.

Total ETS-applicable emissions for the maritime industry amounted to 83.4 million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) in 2022, a modest decrease of 0.22% from 2021. At the current market value of €90 per emissions allowance (EUA), shipping emissions carried a total worth of €7.5 billion for the year.

Taking into account the ETS phase-in period covering 40% of emissions in 2024, 70% in 2025 and 100% in 2026, and utilizing the forward curve in EUAs, estimates indicate that the shipping industry could be liable for €3.1 billion in 2024, €5.7 billion in 2025 and €8.4 billion in 2026.

The data showed emissions decreases across multiple shipping segments, including tankers, container ships, general cargo ships, reefers, Ro-Ros and chemical tankers. The container sector showed the largest reduction, however, passenger ships and LNG carriers logged substantial increases.

“The projected liabilities emphasize the importance of shipping companies preparing for their entry into the ETS. We have been onboarding customers from across shipping’s value chain in order to have them fully prepared by the start of next year. We encourage more shipping companies to do the same,” said Hugo Wilson, Director of Hecla Emissions Management. Hecla Emissions Management was established by Wilhelmsen Ship Management (WSM) and Affinity Shipping LLP in 2022 to assist shipping clients with each of the compliance obligations associated with EU ETS participation.

Jul 07
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Baleària plans to stop emitting almost 80,000 tonnes of CO2 by the end of the year thanks to the use of LNG

By 2023 Newsletter week 27

In recent weeks, Baleària has increased the consumption of natural gas on its 10 dual-fuel engined ships to 100%.

The shipping company estimates that this will allow it to stop emitting around 80,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere between June 1st and the end of the year.

In October 2021, in order to avoid becoming less competitive, the shipping company continued to use this cleaner energy only on port entries, approaches and stays.

It should be noted that, despite the temporary reduction in the use of gas due to the adverse circumstances, Baleària maintained its commitment to this fuel, which enables CO2 emissions to be reduced by up to 30%.

As a result, Baleària has added two more gas-powered vessels to its fleet, having completed the retrofit of the HEDY LAMARR in 2022, and chartering the RUSADIR, a RoPax equipped with an electric propulsion system powered by dual natural gas engines, this spring.

Baleària considers LNG to be the cleanest and most mature currently available for maritime transport. Furthermore, their ships are technologically prepared to consume either 100% biomethane or synthetic methane, as well as green hydrogen mixtures of up to 25%, although these CO2-neutral renewable energies are unfeasible at the moment due to their cost and availability.