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Tallink Grupp Launches Name Search For New Shuttle Vessel

Tallink Grupp has launched an international name search for its new shuttle vessel, the construction of which is due to kick off at the Rauma shipyard in Finland early next year (2020).

The shuttle vessel, which will be similar to the group’s newest vessel Megastar, operating on the Tallinn-Helsinki route since January 2017, will be completed by the end of 2021 and delivered to Tallink Grupp in January 2022. The new vessel will then start operating on the Tallinn-Helsinki route, providing conveniently frequent departures between the twin capitals of Estonia and Finland.

Names for the new vessel can be proposed by filling in a form on Tallink Grupp’s website www.tallink.com/competition . The competition is open for entries until 31 August 2019 and the winning name will be selected by the company’s Management Board by the end of September this year.

Finnlines Calculated Passenger-Specific Route CO2 Emissions

“Finnlines’ vessels are an eco-friendly choice for passengers,” says the company, now that shipping is coming under attack in the media.

Passenger-specific carbon-dioxide figures for 2018 have been calculated on Finnlines’ passenger routes, Naantali–Kapellskär, Malmö–Travemünde and Helsinki–Travemünde. The figures will be updated on a yearly basis and this will be the base for future calculations.

In 2018, CO2 emissions per passenger on routes:

• Naantali–Kapellskär was 13–14 kg CO2/passenger (FINNSWAN, FINNFELLOW)
• Malmö–Travemünde was 15–16 kg CO2/passenger (EUROPALINK, FINNPARTNER, FINNTRADER)
• Helsinki–Travemünde was 69–79 kg CO2/passenger (FINNLADY, FINNMAID, FINNSTAR).

Differences are due to passenger numbers and, for example, weather conditions and route choices.

Tallink Grupp Sees More Passengers On Nearly All Routes in Q2

Q2 main figures:

+0.8% Passengers (2.7 million)
+0.3% Revenue (EUR 256.1 million)
+16.5% EBITDA (EUR 50.7 million)
-2.6% Net Profit (EUR 14.0 million)

The Group’s revenue and operating result were impacted by the following operational factors:

• The number of passengers travelling on the Group’s ships increased in almost all geographical segments (Estonia-Finland, Finland-Sweden and Latvia-Sweden). Decrease on Estonia-Sweden.
• The competition on the maritime traffic between Estonia and Finland puts pressure on ticket prices.
• In 2019 the Easter holidays, when traffic volumes usually increase, were in April, last year the holidays were in March.

During the first 6 months of 2019 the Group carried 1.2% less passengers and saw a decrease of 1% of revenue.

Unaudited EBITDA for the first 6 months was EUR 54.5 million (EUR 47.7 million) and unaudited net loss was EUR 10.4 million (EUR 4.3 million, 6 months 2018 net loss).

The financial result of the first 6 months of 2019 was impacted by the planned dockings of seven ships in Q1.

July Was A Record Month For Wasaline

The strategy of adding more departures for the summer season has proven a success.

The number of departures in July 2019 has increased by 30% compared to July 2018.

The total number of passengers in July was 46,073 which is an increase with almost 2,000 passengers.

Cars, caravans and campers also increased.

As a result of above figures,  the overall turnover has grown with 7,1% compared to July last year.

Despite faster crossings, Wasaline has managed to keep the fuel consumption on a lower level, thanks to the continuous optimisation of fuel consumption.

Record Passengers For Viking Line In July

Viking Line’s passenger volume for all routes in July was 951,645 passengers. This volume is even higher than that during the company’s record year, 2018, when 951,005 people sailed on its vessels.

• Helsinki-Mariehamn-Stockholm 117,543
• Turku-Åland-Stockholm 268,686
• Helsinki-Tallinn 319,372
• Cinderella cruises to Mariehamn (Visby) 99,994
• Mariehamn-Kapellskär 146,050

MARIELLA and GABRIELLA, which sail between Helsinki and Stockholm, made day cruises to Tallinn. This increased capacity significantly.

“We see that there is a great interest in spending the holiday in neighbouring countries among our travellers, which reflects the social trend right now,” says Viking Line’s President and CEO, Jan Hanses.

Tallink Transports Highest Number Of Passengers Ever In One Month In July 2019

Tallink Grupp has transported a record number of passengers for the third month running in 2019, a record number of passengers for the month of July and the highest number of passengers in one month ever in the company’s history. The total number of passengers transported on all the company’s routes in July was 1 238 871, which is a 1.2% increase on the same month in 2018.

Tallink also set a new overall passenger records for one month on the Estonia-Sweden routes, where 119 398 passengers were transported, and on the Latvia-Sweden route, where a total of 97 756 passengers were transported in July.

The company additionally set a new record for the number of cargo units transported in the month of July with 29 967 units of cargo transported in the month in 2019, which is a 1.1% increase on the same month last year. Although not a record-breaking figure, the number of passenger vehicles transported by the company also increased in July, with 155 297 vehicles transported on all the company’s routes in July, which is a 1% increase.

A Further EUR 250 Million Allocated For Renovation Of Small Ferries In Italy

The Italian Transport Minister officially communicated that, together with several Regions and the Coast Guard, some EUR 250 million have been allocated for the renovation of the ferries deployed on the short sea shipping routes in the period 2020 – 2030.

Those financial incentives are mainly focused on vessels operating local or regional links and are aimed at making access and maritime transport easier for people with low mobility.

The Transport Minister also specified that these resources are in excess of the EUR 250 million already allocated last year from the former government and also dedicated to new projects of small ferries to be built.

Venice-based ACTV, Palermo-based Siremar and all the operators active in the Gulf of Naples (Alilauro, Navigazione Libera del Golfo, Medmar, Snav, etc.) are among the companies interested in ordering new ships.

Cargotec‘s Macgregor Completes The Acquisition Of The Marine And Offshore Businesses Of TTS Group ASA

Cargotec’s MacGregor business area has completed the acquisition of the marine and offshore businesses of TTS Group ASA. Cargotec announced in February 2018 an agreement to acquire the businesses for an enterprise value of approximately EUR 87 million.

ANEK Lines:  Towards A Challenging September

According to a recent article in the Greek press (*), next September might be extra challenging for Crete-based ANEK Lines.

After restructuring its lending in 2017, ANEK Lines showed -at the end of 2018- negative private capital as well as overdue liabilities to banks.  That means that it is required to proceed into a share capital increase in order to restore the equity between its private capital and its shareholders capital.

Last March, its Board of Directors decided to propose to the General Assembly to increase the company’s share capital up to €20 million by issuing new bonds. But it was finally decided that the General Assembly concerning that issue should be held on September 9, 2019.

However, ANEK Lines is running out of time. With the fuel costs increasing fast (+ 25% compared to 2017), the cash flow reducing in the second half of 2018 and the new stricter rules of the International Maritime Organization pushing, ANEK Lines’ current use is ready to encounter a very difficult period.

On the other hand, according to reports, ANEK LINE’s main creditors are possibly considering exercising their rights in relation to the loans they have issued. Piraeus Bank, which is the second largest shareholder of the Cretan ferry operator, holding 24,18% will play a key role to that development.

We will have to wait for the developments to come….

(*) Source: Capital.gr (6 August 2019)