The privately-led project to construct a rail link under the Gulf of Finland has received 100 million euros from a Dubai construction firm.
- Trasmediterranea’s ro-pax DIMONIOS has been renamed CIUDAD DE PALMA, in line with the company’s tradition to give “city” names to its ships.
- The Danish hybrid ferry KANALEN finally started to operate on the Thyborøn-Agger crossing, west of Limfjorden, on Monday 26 November. She has been delayed because of problems with the electric motors. She had been delivered in July.If needed she can be rebuilt for full battery operation.
The Visentini Shipyard has produced a short video about the two LNG-powered Balearia ro-pax ferries under construction.
Before And After
The photo shows the GNV ferry EXCELLENT, which collided in October with the quay in Barcelona in extreme weather conditions. She also hit a gantry crane that collapsed and took fire.
The ferry has now been repaired by the Palumbo shipyard in Messina.
The already announced reverse merger of Moby into Compagnia Italiana di Navigazione (CIN) will be effective before the end of the year.
- According to the related 2018/2023 business plan, the Onorato-controlled group will sell five unidentified ro-pax ships generating €305 million revenues and roughly € 145 million of capital gains.
- Two smaller and older vessels are set for dismissal in 2019, further two modern units in 2019 and the last two ferries respectively in 2020 and 2021.
- Some € 30 million will be also invested to install scrubbers on five ships before the end of 2019.
- In the next few years the “new CIN” will charter-in some modern and higher capacity ro-pax units (most of them from Onorato Armatori) to be deployed on the routes linking Italy mainland to Sardinia and Sicily.
Onorato Armatori, company controlled by Vincenzo Onorato and his sons Achille and Alessandro, in few weeks’ time will take delivery of two ro-pax ships built from Flensburger shipyard, while further two ferries will be built in China by Guangzhou Shipyard International and set for delivery from 2021 onwards.
Naples-based Marnavi shipping group decided not to proceed with a takeover of the Sicilian ferry company Liberty Lines, after giving the investigation its due diligence.
The company founded in 1993 by Vittorio Morace has a fleet of 32 hydrofoils, making it one the largest high-speed maritime passenger transport company in the world, and it has also a shipyard in Trapani.
In 2016 Liberty Lines acquired Siremar and 50.9% of the share capital of Traghetti delle Isole, the shipping company operating between the smaller islands of western Sicily. As of today the company offers regular maritime connections from Sicily to the Aeolian islands, to the Egadi islands and Pelagie islands.
The company is still under the administration of an external commissioner following the court case renamed “Mare monstrum” which happened in 2017.
Stena Line has reached an important milestone in its major new fleet investment programme, with the steel cutting of a third E-Flexer ro-pax ship to be deployed on its Irish Sea routes.
This means that all three new E-Flexer ships, planned to enter into service on the Irish Sea during 2020 and 2021, are now under construction at the Avic Weihai Shipyard in China.
The first of the new vessels will commence operation on the Holyhead to Dublin route in early 2020, with the remaining two ships to be introduced on the Liverpool to Belfast route in 2020 and 2021.
In the occasion of the presentation held in Messina of the new ferry Elio delivered to from Sefine shipyard, the chairman of the company,
Vincenzo Franza, chairman of Caronte&Tourist, announced that two more vessels will be ordered soon. He announced it during an event in Messina, where the Sefine-built ELIO was presented. The two new ferries are needed for the routes from Sicily to Lampedusa and Pantelleria. Both those maritime links are covered by Siremar, the ferry company jointly controlled by Caronte&Tourist and Liberty Lines.
“The projects are ready and we also have the funds” said Franza.
Negotiation were ongoing in the recent past with several shipyards in China, Portugal, Poland, Turkey and Italy, with Fincantieri.
The project has been developed by Naos Design.
This new series of ro-pax units should have 1,000 passenger capacity, up to 170 cabins and 650 lane meters plus 60 cars of space in the garage. Propulsion might be dual-fuel LNG, repeating the choice made for the new ferry ELIO.
The two ro-pax ferries SUPER-FAST BALEARES and MASSIMO MURA, in long-term charter to Moby, have been sub-chartered to Cotunav.
Both the units are already deployed on the North Africa – South Europe routes.
SUPER-FAST BALEARES, owned by Trasmediterranea, is being chartered for two months.
Route: Rades – Marseille
MASIMO MURA, controlled by CLdN, will be chartered until spring.
Route: Rades – Livorno – Genoa
Moby confirmed recently that the two newbuildings ALF POLLAK and MARIA GRAZIA ONORATO will be deployed on the Genoa – Livorno – Catania – Malta route.
ALF POLLAK will soon leave Flensburg for her delivery trip.
Kefalonian Lines announced officially its withdrawal –after 5 years- from the Ionian Sea. The company decided:
- To suspend its ferry services on Zakynthos and Kefalonia lines.
- To activate the ship ALEXANDRA L. to the Aegean Sea
- To sell NISSOS KEFALONIA to its competitor Levante Ferries.
This decision, is certainly not serving the Ionian island’s interests, however, the fierce competition in combination with the sustainability reasons presented by Kefalonian Lines, leave Levante Ferries free to dominate the Ionian Sea.
Some interesting facts though are:
- the Ionian Group’s commitment to launch a ship on the Patras-Sami run but only if it is subsidized.
- the further use of the old ALEXANDRA L. in the Aegean Sea, where Attica Group and Seajets are dominant as well as the fate of the old ZAKINTHOS I (photo) which has been decommissioned seven months ago.
Levante Ferries is expected to spend almost EUR 10 million for the purchase and conversion of Kefalonian Line’s, NISSOS KEFALONIA.
The ship is expected to return fully upgraded on the Killini – Zakynthos and Killini – Poros route before summer.
