Self-driving cars to impact the design of ferries

By | 2018 Newsletter Week 05 | No Comments

The Squamish Chief published an interesting article about how BC Ferries was looking at the future developments regarding self-driving cars.
Mark Collins, president of BC Ferries suggests that self-driving cars might deliver profound changes to ferry use. Some examples:

  • A terminal would need more space for foot passengers, plus areas for self-driving vehicles to arrive and depart.
  • Ferries could transport freight only, and no cars, because an autonomous vehicle on the other side could pick up the foot passengers. This would mean a different kind of garage deck.
  • Ferries with flexible spaces, similar to hotels where flexible walls are used to create different sizes of meeting spaces.

Photo: BC Ferries

DFDS and Stena Line prepare for onboard battery loading services

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Electric vehicles create a new challenge for the ferry industry, writes www.tu.no.
Drivers of electric cars would like to leave the ferry with full batteries. So far nobody offers this service but in this article DFDS and Stena Line are reported to work on solutions.
The big issue is safety. A car battery took fire on a DFDS ship in 2010, and since then the ferry industry had a very reluctant approach. However, both DFDS and Stena confirmed they are working on solutions to serve the customers’ needs.
When the temperature in a battery cell rises above a certain level, an unstoppable heat production will occur. A battery fire can be extinguished with water, but more water is needed than another fire. Also, getting the water to the very source of the fire is not easy.

Condor Ferries and Bachmann Group no longer interested in inter-island ferry service

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Jersey Evening Post wrote that Condor Ferries have withdrawn from new plans for a Channel Islands trial service for this year.
The two vessels they had planned to charter had now been deployed elsewhere. The company was also concerned that there is only a very short timeframe available to prepare and launch the new service.
Bachmann Group also pulled out following concerns over costs.
The article quotes Jersey Senator Farnham, who said that there were nine other operators in the bidding process.

Photo: Guernsey © Mike Louagie

Trasmediterranea’s new vessel to be named VILLA DE TEROR

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Juan Carlos Diaz Lorenzo reveals in Puente de Mando (in Spanish) the new name for the ferry under construction at the Vulcan Shipyard in Vigo for Trasmediterranea. We’re talking about the ferry that was originally ordered by Viking Line as VIKING ADCC.
Her name will be VILLA DE TEROR. The town of Teror is a municipality in the province of Las Palmas, located north of Gran Canaria.

Photo: Juan Carlos Diaz Lorenzo

Saint Pierre et Miquelon soon ready to operate the new Damen ro-pax vessels

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In 2015 Collectivité de Saint Pierre et Miquelon awarded the contract for two new ferries to operate between the two Islands and Fortune (Canada) to Damen Shipyards Group.
In close cooperation with the client, Damen designed the Fast RoPax 5510, 55 m long, with a capacity for 192 passengers and crew, 3 trucks or 18 cars.
The vessels named NORDET and SUROIT were heavy-lifted to Canada in November and have recently finished their local sea trials.

Photo: Rendering Damen

SHORT NEWS

By | 2018 Newsletter Week 05 | No Comments

As reported last week, WIND SOLUTION has arrived in Greece and seems to have been bought by SeaJets. Apostolos Kaknis took this picture.

  • Bridgemans Services Group LP (BSG) has reported that their ro-ro ferry CABO STAR will be available for charter as from July. The vessel is operating under a contract for Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Works and Transport (MOWT).
  • After a three-month charter in the Caribbean island of St Kitts the GNV ro-pax EXCELLENT is back in Italy. She has been serving as an educational facility for the Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica, after the island was severely damaged by Hurricane Maria in September.
  • Kefalonian Lines has bought the MIRTIDIOTISSA from Aqua Ferries. Probably she will be deployed on the Patras – Ithaka – Sami – Kyllini route.