On June 21, roro vessel ARMENISTIS (4.529gt/1972) of the Ainaftis Shipping Company (Kalimassias) arrived at Neos Molos (Drapetsona/Piraeus).
The former CTMA VOYAGEUR was at Avlis Shipyards (Chalkis) since March 12, in order to be repaired. On April 28, she was registered in Chios, while she is expected to be introduced in a North Aegean line. The small roro was built in Norway in 1972 as the ANDERIDA for Stena Line and purchased from Canadian CTMA in February 2020.
Brittany Ferries confirmed a limited return to scheduled passenger services this summer. In all, five ships will carry passengers when services resume from Monday, 29 June. A further three ships covering four routes will re-open to passengers in July.
With the tourist season now commencing and the transportation of passengers to and from the Greek islands now permitted, Attica Group is using the new service ‘Restart your business with BV’ in cooperation with Bureau Veritas, in order to certify the quality and reliability that have established the Group as a provider of maritime passenger transport.
Introduced in May, “Restart your business with BV”, addresses biological risks, as posed by COVID-19 and other infections, providing procedures and measures to protect people. The new service includes a framework of standards, which after the completion of strict audits and certification, is validated through the new Bureau Veritas label ‘SAFEGUARD’, providing operators, crew and passengers with the confidence that dangers occurring from potential infections or pandemics are being addressed effectively.
10 vessels of Attica Group have now been certified by Bureau Veritas.
Mr. Spyros Paschalis, CEO of Attica Group commenting further said: ‘Attica Group is systematically implementing measures towards the protection of the health of its passengers and crews on board its vessels. Since the first day of the outbreak of COVID-19 we intensified and adapted our procedures accordingly, remaining always in close collaboration with the Health Authorities. During this process we became familiar with “Restart your Business with BV”. Bureau Veritas, after checking carefully our procedures and based on the standards it has established, concluded that they are being implemented correctly and proceeded to the issuance of certification for each vessel with the SAFEGUARD label, demonstrating that the services offered by Attica Group are effectively addressing health, sanitation and hygiene requirements.”
New LNG Roro Vessels Reduce Greenhouse Gases By 63%
Wallenius SOL’s new, ice-rated LNG-powered RoRo vessels will have a significantly lower environmental impact compared to older vessels. According to IVL, hull design had a major beneficial effect on energy efficiency.
IVL – the independent Swedish Environmental Research Institute – was commissioned to calculate how the new type of vessel compares with those currently plying the route from the northern Baltic to ports on the continent. The vessels are currently under construction at the CIMC Raffles shipyard in China, where the project is led by Wallenius Marine. A comparison was made with the roro ship THULELAND, which has been in operation since 2006 and is best-in-class in terms of low environmental impact.
Poole To Cherbourg Ferry Route Will Not Operate Again This Summer
Brittany Ferries have confirmed that their Poole to Cherbourg route will not be operating for the rest of the summer.
The City of Turku, the Port of Turku Oy, Tallink Silja and Viking Line have begun to consider three alternatives for the location of the Turku passenger terminal. The original joint terminal project planned for Linnanauko is proving to be too expensive.
Condor Ferries has maintained essential freight links only since March, but has not run any fast ferry passenger services.
Currently, anyone arriving in the Channel Islands has to self-isolate for 14 days with penalties for those caught breaching the law.
Condor is working with the authorities to establish a date to start services.
Eckerö Reopens Buffet
Until 25 June Eckerö serves a summer menu and breakfast that have been modified for safety and hygienic reasons.
As of 26 June, the company returns to normal buffet dining, with a reduced number of customer seats.
Naviera Armas Trasmediterránea will reactivate the Ceuta – Algeciras – Ceuta line starting June 22
After the virus-forced suspension, Naviera Armas Trasmediterránea will restart the route to the Spanish Autonomous City of Ceuta with high-speed ropax catamaran CIUDAD DE CEUTA.
Godby Shipping: Newbuilding Project Delayed
In a message on its social media, Godby Shipping says that, “global lockdown has made the demand for roro vessels almost disappear.”
“At present only MIMER and LINK STAR are trading and it remains uncertain when and how all vessels will be back in traffic.”
“Before the downturn the office was manned to handle at least seven vessels and the first stage of a newbuilding project. The newbuilding project is now at least 2-3 years into the future and the focus is to survive.”
As from July 10, several of the office staff will leave the company.
The newly built ro-pax unit CIUDAD DE VALENCIA (hull n° 229) left the Cantiere Navale Visentini shipyard in Porto Viro (Rovigo) and is currently in the port of Trieste for some final works before sea trials start.
The vessel will join Trasmediterranea’s fleet in long time charter and is expected to be deployed on the routes linking Spain mainland to Canary or Balearic Islands.
The delivery will take place before the end of July.
Designed by Naos Design, this ro-pax unit is 203m long, 25m wide and will be able to accommodate 1,000 passengers and 2,600 linear metres of ro-ro cargo.
Cantiere Navale Visentini is already working on the next two ro-pax new buildings with delivery scheduled before summer 2021 (the first one) and in 2022 (the second one ordered by Corsica Linea).
Grimaldi Doubled Ro-Ro Capacity With A Second Ship On The Livorno – Cagliari Service
On June 15, Grimaldi Group doubled the cargo capacity of its Livorno – Cagliari maritime link.
In a statement to its freight customers Grimaldi made public that a second vessel (EUROCARGO VALENCIA – 170 trailers) will be active on the route together with the EUROCARGO ISTANBUL already deployed on the same route.
Frequency of the regular services thus became daily and competition with Grendi Trasporti Marittimi operating the similar Marina di Carrara – Cagliari route is expected to increase.
After a temporary stop due to Covid-19, Grendi also recently announced to have restored the new line started last February and linking Porto Torres (in north of Sardinia) with Italy mainland (Marina di Carrara).
