Over the last 10 months the Italian transport ministry asked ferry companies for ropax units to be used as “floating quarantine hotels” for migrants arriving on the Italian coasts from North Africa.
Earlier this week the same ministry published an updated resume of the awarded contracts: GNV €34.5m and Moby €1m.
Some other ferry companies such as CIN, Forship and the Greek firm Galaxy Maritime S.A. submitted offers but were excluded or emerged as second best.
“Short Straits to Smart Straits”
Coalition Project Unites Port of Dover and GetLink
Short Straits gateway consists of the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel (Getlink). Together they draw attention on the fact that they:
On 3 February, the coalition has proposed a new initiative to the UK Government: “Short Straits to Smart Straits”
Instead of the Governments Freeports ambitions the coalition wants to develop the world’s smartest border through a number of solutions that will help remove border frictions and create a world-leading virtual border solution for the Government’s 2025 UK Border Strategy.
The coalition also pursues the goal to pioneer the UK’s first zero emissions logistics corridors, linking with the Government’s important sustainability agenda to build back better through its Green Industrial Revolution and Maritime 2050.
Freight volumes at Port of Kapellskär are continuing to rise.
DFDS route Cuxhaven – Immingham to be upgraded as from 1 February
Stena Line and Noord Natie Ventspils Terminals (NNVT) have signed a 20-year contract securing the continuous ferry operation from the Freeport of Ventspils in Latvia.
This long-term agreement is an important part of Stena Lines expansion in the Baltic Sea and the route between Ventspils and Nynäshamn in Sweden.
During 2021 two large modern RoPax vessels will start operating on the route increasing the freight capacity with 30 %. (STENA SCANDICA & STENA BALTICA = lengthened STENA LAGAN & STENA MERSEY)
2020 was a tough year for Ports of Normandy’s three ports – Caen-Ouistreham, Cherbourg and Dieppe.
2021 saw a very strong increase in traffic and the service offering to Ireland through Cherbourg with up to 12 departures a week (to Dublin and Rosslare).
The future:
Corvus – Toyota Partnership: First Marine Fuel-Cell On A Vessel In 2023
Corvus Energy is set to start development and production of sustainable, large scale maritime-certified hydrogen fuel-cell systems in partnership with Toyota
“Adding fuel-cell modules to our product portfolio is a natural step for Corvus and advances our vision to be the leading supplier of zero-emission marine solutions. Fuel-cell technology has reached a maturity level where scale-up of systems will be the next step. Toyota is in the forefront of the development and is by far the best partner for us to make this a success,” said Corvus Energy CEO Geir Bjørkeli.
Watch the video of the official presentation, with Norway’s Prime Minister
Deltamarin supported Flexens in its Power2AX project by conducting a ferry comparison study with the aim of investigating the substitution of diesel-fuelled ferries with hydrogen ferries in the Åland archipelago.
Flexens Oy Ab is a Finnish project development company.
Flexen’s unique Power2AX project focuses on demonstrating a 100% renewable energy system in the Åland Islands.
Deltamarin’s study provides an estimation of the technical feasibility of introducing fuel cell ferries in the Åland archipelago that utilise hydrogen as fuel.
ESPO’s Port Pro of the Month: Tom Hautekiet, Port of Zeebrugge
This month, Tom Hautekiet tells ESPO all about the Port of Zeebrugge.
Discover how he got into the port sector, how the Port of Zeebrugge handled the COVID-19 crisis and Brexit, and learn more about his views on the role of a port managing body and how a port can contribute to the decarbonization of the transport and logistics chain.
The Brussels-based NGO continues to denounce that many ships are not scrapped according to the laws.
On a positive note: Carnival Corporation receives the 2020 award for best ship recycling practice. Leading by example, the American cruise shipping giant sets a standard the remaining of the cruise and shipping sector can follow.
