Bay Ferries has been saying a return to Bar Harbor for ferry service between Nova Scotia and Maine is something it is has been exploring.
The ferry MARIA LIBRE of the State-owned company Conferry, has been paralyzed at the pier of Punta de Piedras since May 2016. It was the only ship that made the crossing between the islands of Margarita and the island of Coche, Venezuela
The Mayor of the island of Coche denounced the deteriorating situation.
At the request of Trasmediterránea some modifications are being done on ferry VILLA DEL TEROR, delaying the delivery with a couple of weeks.
The 139m ship originally ordered by Viking Line was transferred on 22 June from the Vulcan shipyard to the dry dock of Metalships & Docks for its painting.
Meanwhile, the future of the shipyard is being questioned.
The twin-island republic suffers from the absence of a purchased ferry. Their normal-speed ro-pax catamaran GALLEONS PASSAGE is in Cuba for repairs, before being delivered. However, since some countries still have an embargo on Cuba it seems difficult to get spare parts from Australia.
The works have been delayed and now the ferry is only expected back on 16 July.
The vessel is being sold by Sealease Ltd of Hong Kong to Nidco (National Infrastructure Development Company). She was originally built by Guangdong Bonny Fair for Venezuela, with the construction starting in 2016.
Two weeks after Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced plans to purchase two new ferries for the inter island seabridge, as well as a navy patrol vessel, both Incat and Austal have submitted proposals to Government.
Proposals for new vessels have been received too from Austal and INCAT
Marine Atlantic, a Canadian Crown corporation, provides ferry services between the Island of Newfoundland and the Province of Nova Scotia. One of their ferries is the Tallink Grupp owned ATLANTIC VISION, which is on charter. The charter will be extended until November 2019. The company said it will continue to work with the Government of Canada regarding future fleet configuration.
- NOVA STAR is now expected to enter service with Polferries on 27 June.
- Several Spanish sources say that the negotiations for a renewed Nantes – Gijon Motorways of the Seas are on track. European money is being asked for.
- Bornholm’s new ro-pax ferry HAMMERSHUS has been on its first sea-trials, in the waters around Rauma, Finland.
- GALAXY, chartered by AML, has moved to the Guadalquivir shipyards in Seville to solve some deficiencies.
Jean-Pierre Fabre sent us this photograph of VIZZAVONA, Corsica Linea’s newest addition to the fleet. The picture was taken on June 18, when the vessel sailed to Ajaccio for the first time.
Photo: Jean-Pierre Fabre
On June 20, Baleària celebrated 20 years of its successful betting on energy efficiency, digitalization, international expansion and the assumption of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, as a road map to achieve economic, social and environmental sustainability.
The shipping company, which currently operates in five countries, with 21 routes and 21 public service contracts, has a fleet of 30 ferries and fast ferries. Baleària transported a total of 3,700,000 passengers in 2017.
Expansion in international markets is one of the strategic points. Currently one on four passengers is international. Baleària is present in five countries, operates four international routes, with more than 880,000 passengers. International lines account for 20% of the turnover.
1) North Africa: Algeciras – Tangier, Almeria – Nador, València – Mostaganem.
2) United States – The Bahamas.
Baleària has two LNG-powered ferries on order. It has put an LNG-powered generator on ABEL MATUTES and it has the intention to convert several ships to LNG.
Seatruck Ferries will deploy larger ferries on the Warrenpoint – Heysham route.
The Seatruck owned SEATRUCK PRECISION and SEATRUCK PERFORMANCE will be the new ships. They are on charter to Stena Line since 2012, and are working on the Irish Sea routes from Belfast. The Flensburg built vessels will provide space for an extra 30 units per sailing due to their extra 4th deck. They will replace the three-deck shipsThe new ships will commence towards the end August / early September.Stena Line will have to introduce other tonnage as replacement.
