A-Ships Management, PRINCE (13.336gt/1974) has finished her dry docking at Neorion (Syros) shipyards.
The classic ship, once the Swedish PRINCESS BIRGITTA, will be introduced again on the Igoumenitsa-Corfu-Brindisi run but first she will serve -for a short time- the Ancona-Split run replacing the SNAV’s AURELIA which will be out for repairs.
As from 15 June, DFDS will operate the Zeebrugge – Göteborg service with Stora Enso as main customer. (see our news from 9 May)
Three ships will be put on the service: GOTHIA SEAWAYS and BELGIA SEAWAYS (which are the two existing vessels on the route, SCHIEBORG/SLINGEBORG) and FIONIA SEAWAYS.
Damen is building two LNG-Hybrid RoRo vessels for Seaspan Ferries at Damen Shipyards Mangalia.
These two innovative 149m vessels will join Seaspan’s fleet with 1,034 lane metres and have 209m3 LNG storage onboard and 2 megawatt hours of battery capacity.
They will go into service for Seaspan Ferries as part of the company’s fleet replacement program and work alongside the SEASPAN SWIFT and SEASPAN RELIANT.
The vessels will be classed by Bureau Veritas and will go into operation in 2021 with construction starting in 2019.
Nine Spanish Ports Prepare for The Annual “Operation Paso del Estrecho”
OPE 2019, or Operation Paso del Estrecho, is about to start in two weeks’ time, and all protagonists are getting ready.
Operation Paso del Estrecho is a Spanish plan to coordinate the arrival of large numbers of immigrants during holiday periods, traveling from Europe to their hometowns in North Africa. In Morocco it is called Opération Marhaba.
Forecasts indicate that the record figures reached in 2018 (3.2 million passengers and 734,240 vehicles passed through Spanish ports between 15 June and 15 September), could be exceeded.
In total, nine Spanish ports are involved: Algeciras, Tarifa, Malaga, Almeria, Motril, Alicante, Valencia, Ceuta and Melilla. Some 34 vessels are involved.
The busiest days are expected to be from July 27 to 30, August 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10, as well as late August. Last year thousands of travellers were stranded in Tanger, some for 48 hours.
As in previous years, the interchangeability of the tickets will be operational between the shipping companies, allowing the first ones arriving to take the first available ferry.
Portsmouth International Port’s relationship with Brittany Ferries has been strengthened following the announcement of an additional five years to a joint long-term agreement.
This means Brittany Ferries is committed to Portsmouth until the end of 2031, during which time a further three ships will join the current fleet serving routes from the city. Alongside the HONFLEUR, GALICIA and SALAMANCA will both be based in Portsmouth from 2021.
Currently the port welcomes over 1.85 million Brittany Ferries’ passengers annually.
To make sure the Port can meet its customers’ expectations recently the council approved £19m of investment to transform the facilities and overhaul existing infrastructure.
Monthly Message from Interferry’s CEO, Mike Corrigan Interferry Outcome of MEPC74
As a result of our partnership with DNV GL, Interferry is pleased to provide its members with DNV GL’s overview of IMO developments in their MAY 2019 IMO MARINE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION COMMITTEE report and MAY 2019 TECHNICAL AND REGULATORY NEWS report.
With regards to the impact of MEPC74 on the ferry industry, Interferry’s Director of Regulatory Affairs, Johan Roos, highlights four developments:
In view of the European elections, which will lead to a new Commission, a new European Parliament and a new vision for Europe, European ports have prepared a memorandum emphasising the role port managing bodies can play as facilitators of the port ecosystem. The ESPO memorandum identifies ten priorities, ten fields of action and importance for the next five years.
The memorandum has been presented during the ESPO annual conference in Livorno.
What Happens When 30 Design Students Spend 3 Days On A Ferry?
OICL (Ocean Industries Concept Lab) is a research group in Norway focusing on innovation challenges facing the Maritime, Offshore and Subsea industries. They are based at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) and combine new technology with a user-centered design approach.
Field studies are an important method that may help in the design of more user-friendly ships. Therefore OICL sent 30 students to spend time on the DFDS Ferry between Oslo and Copenhagen.
Bunker Rating Tool Brings Transparency in the Bunkers Industry
DFDS has begun to use BunkerTrust, a service which allows shipping companies to judge and view other people’s ratings of suppliers and bunkers.
Today, about 250 ships rate their bunkers deliveries on a regular basis via BunkerTrust, and DFDS is among the 23 shipowners using the platform.
DFDS To Take Over the Ro-Ro Service from Turkish Company Alternative Transport
Alternative Transport is experiencing financial difficulties. The Turkish company announced to stop operating the route between Sète, France and Cesme, Turkey. To assure its continuation, DFDS will start to run the route as from 1 July.
The route represents 20,000 to 25,000 trucks a year.
DFDS will test the route for six months, with two sailings a week.
Two 310-unit vessels will be put on the route.
It also means Toulon will lose one of the three weekly calls.
Alternative Transport operated two ships: FADIQ and AYSHE. The first is still sailing on the route. The latter is in Perama.
