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sandra

May 14
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Hurtigruten Norwegian Coastal Voyages To Restart Gradually Mid-June

By 2020 Newsletter week 20

Operations on the scheduled Bergen – Kirkenes – Bergen voyages will be suspended until June 15.

Hurtigruten is planning for a gradual restart of operations on the Norwegian coast. The first planned departure will be FINNMARKEN from Bergen on June 16.

Following June 16, the company will make decisions for each and every voyage individually.

In agreement with the Norwegian Ministry of Transport, Hurtigruten has deployed two ships in an amended domestic schedule. The newly upgraded RICHARD WITH and VESTERÅLEN is bringing critical supplies and goods to local Norwegian communities. This service will continue through June 15.

May 14
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Caronte & Tourist’s Fleet Of Ferries Will Be Covid-Free With The Help Of Rina

By 2020 Newsletter week 20

Following the announcement from Baleària last week, the Italian ferry company Caronte & Tourist is working with Rina Consulting towards being the first operator ‘Covid-free’ in Italy, to obtain the correct instructions for transporting passengers safely next summer.

Before the end of June, Caronte & Tourist will have to implement specific procedures, cleaning plans, organisational and personal protective measures to prevent Covid-19., under the supervision of Rina.

Vincenzo Franza, CEO of the Messina-based ferry company, said that “to be compliant with the new rules, passenger capacity will be reduced 50%, in order to guarantee the necessary social distance. There will also be new procedures and one-way corridors”.

For the very short routes the company will also ask the possibility for the passengers to stay in their cars during the crossing.

May 14
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FERRY FINANCE

By 2020 Newsletter week 20

“Financial Aid Ok, But In Accordance With Existing Rules,” Says Emanuel Grimaldi

Q1: Finnlines Group’s revenue was almost on previous year’s level

  • Revenue EUR 130.5 million (-5%)
  • Result EUR 20.7 million (+28%)
  • Cargo units 186,000
  • Cars (not including passengers’ cars) 41,000
  • Passengers 121,000

“Operationally the quarter ended in difficult conditions, with a strong impact on passenger transport and a slowed down growth in business globally. Finnlines is not immune to this slowdown in global trade and we also need to mitigate the Covid-19 impact. Thus, we have taken steps to lower costs and have implemented cost-saving plan,” said CEO Mr Grimaldi in a news release.

“Governments across Europe have promised various emergency measures to shipping companies. This can lead to very unfair competition. Any financial aid has to be provided in accordance with existing rules, and that individual companies should not be singled out for support at the expense of more robust rivals. Any aid, either from governmental or from security of supply agencies, should be available to all shipping companies, regardless of their financial strength, in order to avoid distorting the marketplace and risking antitrust complaints. If the state intervenes, it has to intervene in a such way that it does not create unfair competition.”

May 14
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Tallink Grupp To Get State Loan Up To EUR 100 Million

By 2020 Newsletter week 20

The Government of the Republic of Estonia today approved the terms of a working capital loan to AS Tallink Grupp. The total amount of the loan limit is EUR 100 million and the loan can be issued in EUR 10-40 million tranches. The interest rate of the three-year maturity loan is 12-month Euribor +2%. The loan must be secured with the assets of the Company’s consolidation group and will be issued by SA KredEx.

The loan still needs to be approved by the Kredex Supervisory Board. This expected on Friday 15 May.

 

Tallink Grupp’s Q1 Shows A Deteriorated Overall Outcome – Freight Is Up

  • Unaudited consolidated revenue EUR 154.9 million (-13.4%)
  • Net loss EUR 30.2 million
  • Unaudited EBITDA EUR -1.3 million (3.8 million in Q1 2019).

The first two months of the year had set the company on a positive trajectory for the year with passenger numbers up in both January and February, by 12.4% and 8% respectively. However, as a state of emergency was declared in Estonia, Latvia and Finland due to the global coronavirus pandemic in mid-March and the company’s home market governments closed borders to stop the spread of the virus, the passenger numbers fell sharply by 59.3% in March and have reduced by 95.9% in April.

May 14
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Good Start Of A New Era For Fjord1 – Q1 Results

By 2020 Newsletter week 20

Q1

  • Revenue NOK 752 million (+17%) after the start-up of new routes on 1 January 2020
  • EBITDA NOK 194 million (+23%)
  • Reduced frequency on ferry and passenger boat routes due to travel restrictions have had a limited financial impact, although the effects on Catering and Tourism have been significant.
  • The vessel renewal programme is coming to an end, with five vessels delivered in Q1. Two deliveries remain out of a total of 25 new and upgraded vessels.
  • Fjord1 views 2020 as a ramp-up year, with the start-up of several new ferry contracts, the completion of the vessel newbuild programme and further progress in the electrification of the fleet. Fjord1 is well-equipped to navigate this more uncertain market environment, with a long-term contract portfolio of NOK 22.8 billion and exciting long-term prospects in the tourism industry.
  • Travel restrictions for technical personnel from Germany and Italy may delay the completion of electrification infrastructure. Such delays could postpone the start-up of fully electric ferry routes. This will in turn, postpone the release of government-funded NOx compensation for the new vessels, public infrastructure payments and expected fuel cost savings, as well as the turning point of the net interest-bearing debt.

Outlook

  • Fjord1 believes there will be demand for safe, environmentally friendly and reliable transport in coastal regions in the future.
  • Fjord1 assesses new tender opportunities in the Norwegian market on an ongoing basis, as well as opportunities outside of Norway.
  • Fjord1 has a strong contract portfolio of NOK 22.8 billion in total value through 2033, excluding options and index regulation.
  • In 2020, revenue is expected to grow by 10-15% compared with 2019. The increase will be driven by the new ferry connections that started 1 January 2020.
May 14
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TECHNOLOGY

By 2020 Newsletter week 20

European Commission Adopts A Package Of Guidance And Recommendations To Coordinate A Safe Return To Travel And Tourism This Summer

Extract from yesterday’s speech (13/5) by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager on the Tourism and Transport Package.

“The European Commission has adopted a package of guidance and recommendations, to coordinate a safe return to travel and tourism this summer. This package is built on the Joint European Roadmap towards lifting containment. It’s about coordinating, not replacing, the work that’s being done by businesses and by national and local governments in Europe.”

The essence:

  • Reopening borders
  • Possibility to travel between European countries
  • Travellers and workers need to know that the places that tourists visit are safe
  • EU consumers have a right to a cash refund, if that’s what they want. But many companies will come under pressure and this liquidity crunch would be less severe if customers accepted vouchers, instead of cash refunds. “So today, we adopted a recommendation on how to make these vouchers more attractive.”
May 14
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TECHNOLOGY

By 2020 Newsletter week 20

Fanølinjen Introduce New AI Information System To Avoid Long Waiting Times

The island of Fanø is a popular tourism destination. Guests can now get an estimated waiting time for their booking. The system is based on travel data from previous years, but it is also built so that guests’ travel patterns constantly make the system more intelligent.

“The ticket is fully flexible during the day, and customers can continuously get an indication of how heavy the traffic is and when some waiting is likely,” says Jesper Skovgaard, Molslinjen’s commercial director.

May 14
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SHORT NEWS

By 2020 Newsletter week 20
  • DFDS’ LIVERPOOL SEAWAYS will be renamed PELAGOS by her new owners La Mériodionale.
  • “Every day, our ships cross the Pelagos Sanctuary, a maritime area with a rich and outstanding selection of wildlife.”
  • Tallink Grupp made the decision to add extra departures on the Tallinn-Helsinki route for shuttle vessel STAR. The group initially announced that Star will return to the route only for limited weekend departures from 15 May 2020, but due to increased demand and the company’s commitment to ensure maximum safety and adherence to distance requirements onboard, the company has decided to add further departures to the route already from 14 May 2020. Detailed information here
  • Grimaldi’s 1997-built EUROCARGO TRIESTE has been sent to the scrapyard in Turkey. The roro vessel experienced an engine room fire in November 2019.