A maritime consortium, including ABS and Sandia National Laboratories, recently proved the viability of a hydrogen fuel cell ferry designed for operations in the environmentally sensitive San Francisco Bay area.
- Thanks to the introduction of its new ro-ro vessel LAURELINE, CLdN is now able to take the next step in the development of the Spanish corridor and increase the number of sailings between the ports of Zeebrugge and Santander from two to three departures per week as from Sunday 17 March 2019.
- CLdN will offer symmetrical sailings from both Santander and Zeebrugge on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, operated by modern ro-ro vessels which can accommodate a wide variety of cargo.
- Deltamarin has signed a contract with Rauma Marine Constructions Oy (RMC) for the design of the car passenger ferry for Kvarken Link AB.
- Deltamarin’s commission covers basic and detail design services for all hull and machinery areas. The value of the contract with RMC is about €4m.
- Although PCTC’s are not part of our ferry business, it is interesting to see that UECC decided to invest in new generation pure car and truck carriers with Battery Hybrid LNG Solution. UECC has signed a contract to construct two new generation PCTC with China Ship Builidng Trading Co., Ltd and Jiangnan Shipyard Group Co. Ltd. The newbuilding contract also has options for two additional vessels, and the first vessel is planned for delivery in 2021.
Ferries On Rio De La Plata
Last week I was with a media friend in Buenos Aires, which was of course an opportunity to test the ferry service to Uruguay. With the much-appreciated help of Direct Ferries we booked a one-day ticket to Colonia.
Before, I hadn’t realised the size of the operations. Seeing the sheer size of the terminal and the number of ferries changed my mind.
Also, something which surprised me was the immigration procedures. After all, in the European Union we are so spoiled with easy border access.
We sailed on SILVIA ANA L, the Spanish, 1996-built monohull fast ferry which had a part of her life on the Color Line route between Hirtshals and Kristiansand.
HARTMUT PUSCHMANN
Moby Fleet Changes: MARIA GRAZIA ONORATO In And HARTMUT PUSCHMANN Out
In the near future some further changes are expected to take place in Moby and Tirrenia’s ro-pax fleet.
The Milan-based group controlled by the Onorato family is rumoured to have just closed the sale of the aged ro-ro unit HARTMUT PUSCHMANN for a price of € 13 million. Some sources report the Cyprus-based Ntiolio Shipping Company Ltd as buyer while some others suggest it should be the Egyptian ferry company El Salam. Moby declined to comment on the deal, but broker sources reveal that the ship will be bare boat chartered back for six months.
MARIA GRAZIA ONORATO launching ceremony at Flensburg shipyard
The 1,820 lane metre HARTMUT PUSCHMANN was built in 1993 by Fincantieri in Palermo and has been recently deployed on the Livorno – Olbia route by Tirrenia.
For one vessel leaving the company’s fleet there will be soon another one replacing it. The cargo sales director, Pierre Canu, said in the occasion of the Transport Logistic exhibition just held in Verona that “a new 4,600 lane metres ro-ro ship is soon to be delivered by the shipyard and therefore will enter into service before next spring on the route covered by Moby Group to and from the port of Catania, in Sicily”. The vessel in question which just left Flensburger shipyard for the sea trials is the MARIA GRAZIA ONORATO, sister ship of the ALF POLLACK bare boat chartered by Onorato Armatori few months ago and then chartered-out to DFDS.
Niels Smedegaard has decided to step down as CEO of DFDS at the end of April.
Torben Carlsen (photo), who joined DFDS as a member of the Executive Board and CFO in 2009, is appointed new CEO.
At the end of February, Norled revealed the first visuals of the hydrogen-powered ferry, designed by LMG Marin, and with contributions from fellow cluster partners Westcon Power & Automation and Prototech.
- Topside location of the hydrogen tanks and system. In case of a leakage, gas will emit into fresh air. This was the best solution for a no-risk system.
- The port of Hjelmeland will have a storage and filling system for liquid hydrogen. Every third week the vessel will be fuelled with four tonnes of hydrogen.
- As from 2023 locally produced, green hydrogen will be available.
- Shipyard to be selected in March.
- Two ships for route Hjelmeland-Nesvik-Skipavik. Both all-electric, one with hydrogen fuel cells for 50% of power.
The Ionian Group consortium officially announced that it will be renamed into Levante Ferries Group. This comes after the change in its composition.
The Group’s fleet will include FIOR DI LEVANTE, MARE DI LEVANTE, ANDREAS KALVOS and NISSOS KEFALONIA. They will continue offering ferry crossings to Kefalonia, Zakynthos and Ithaca.
Strategic Marine launched ALFRED, the new vessel for Pentland Ferries. This happened in Vung Tao, Vietnam. Designed by BMT SSD, the 85m catamaran is due to enter service later this year, transporting up to 430 passengers, 98 cars and 12 lorries between the Orkney Islands and mainland Scotland.
Balearia’s fast monohull ferry RAMON LLULL got new MTU 20V4000M73L engines, which will increase its speed by 30%.
That will allow her to connect Denia and Formentera in less than two hours.
Improvements have also been made to the interior, such as the creation of a premium lounge, the introduction of digital signage, a new entertainment platform, and internet access. In total, eight million euro has been invested.
Ferry Passengers Increasing (+4%) And Ro-Ro Decreasing (-1%) In The Port Of Ancona
In 2018, 1,151,266 passengers were handled in the port of Ancona, 6% more compared with the year before, and 1,084,235 of those were transported by ferries (+4%).
More in detail:
- 771,874 passengers (+1%) Ancona – Igoumenitsa – Patras
- 221,446 (+7%) Ancona – Split (Croatia)
- 90,832 (+29%) Ancona – Durres (Albania).
The ferry companies active in the port of Ancona are Minoan Lines, Superfast Ferries and Anek Lines (to and from Greece), Grandi Navi Veloci and Adria Ferries (to and from Albania) and Jadrolinija and Snav (to and from Croatia).
As for the ro-ro traffic, 147,650 trucks and trailers were handled in the port in 2018, which means a 1% decrease compared with the previous year.
