2019 Newsletter week 40

Caronte & Tourists Intends To Take Market Restriction Case Suffered In Croatia To The European Commission

This summer, Italy’s Caronte & Tourist was finally not able to operate the Rijeka-Porozina maritime link, formally due to a lack of authorisations.
The Italian ferry company will signal the case to the European Commission.

According to the local Croatian media Lavoce.hr, the double-ender ferry GIUSEPPE FRANZA remained inactive and moored at the Molo Orlando quay in Rijeka since mid-July, when it arrived from Italy for opening a new regular line to be operated until the end of September.

After several difficulties at obtaining the necessary authorisations from the Croatian transport ministry, Coast Guard and Short Sea Maritime Agency, there was still some factors avoiding the sailing of the line due to lack of permissions. In reality, several market observers underlined that it’s likely that the incumbent player Jadrolinija has a role at putting a spoke in the wheels of the Italian newcomer for competition reasons.

Caronte & Tourist is now taking legal actions against the local Coast Guard and the port authorities in Rijeka and Cres. The company controlled by the Franza and Matacena families intend also to take the case in Bruxelles signalling the Croatian government to the DG Competition authority for market restriction.

The GIUSEPPE FRANZA will leave Rijeka this week. It is expected to be back in Croatia for the next summer season as Caronte & Tourist will not give up and intends to double its presence on this market opening a second line also between the ports of Prizna and Stara Novalja.

P&O Ferrymasters has entered into a strategic partnership with SGS Maco to offer customs declaration services to P&O Ferrymasters’ customers. This will maintain easy and fluid declaration for the import and export of goods to and from the United Kingdom, in the event of a “no-deal” Brexit.

If at the end of October, the UK leaves the European Union without a deal that maintains existing customs arrangements, goods may have to be declared to customs and this partnership will allow continuity and fluidity for P&O Ferrymaster’s customers.

SGS Maco will work with P&O Ferrymasters to facilitate its customers making customs declarations at ports in the Netherlands and Belgium and offer fiscal representation services for companies transporting goods throughout the European Union. The customs declaration services will be organised in the United Kingdom by P&O Ferrymasters and SGS Maco staff, and through a partner in Ireland.

The interior designs of the new ferry, which will operate between Vaasa in Finland and Umeå in Sweden, are being finalized. Kudos Dsign has produced the interior design plan for Wasaline’s new ship.

“We are very pleased with the interior design plan. The design is down-to-earth and we got just what we were looking for. Kudos Dsign has been easy to work with and the communication has been fluent”, says Markus Backlund, Project Manager for the interior design, Kvarken Link.

“Part of our project team has roots in the Botnia region which makes this project very special and personal to us. From the very beginning it was obvious that the design direction should be honest and simplified just like the Botnia region is known as at its best. We were inspired by the windswept islands of the Botnian archipelago, the wide-open fields, and the majestic landscape of Västerbotten, not forgetting the traditional craftmanship skills and today’s greenhouse farming” says Anu Shaw, Senior interior designer & Project Manager of Kudos Dsign.

The construction of the new ferry for Kvarken Link has started at the Rauma Marine Constructions shipyard and it will replace the existing Wasa Express in traffic in the spring of 2021. It will be operated by Wasaline.

Belfast’s Harland and Wolff shipyard was placed into administration in August 2019. It has now been sold for £6m to InfraStrata, a ”London Stock Exchange-listed firm focused on the development and commercialisation of advanced high-value energy infrastructure projects across the globe.”

Harland and Wolff’s problems occurred after the collapse of its Norwegian parent company.
The yard is well known to the ferry operators of the Irish Sea.

When La Mériodionale’s PIANA left Bastia on 30 September it was with some regret that the crew looked back. Smoke pots and horn blowing were marking the event. It was the last time the ship was going to call in Bastia for the time being. In fact, the ro-pax ferry was built especially for the Marseille-Bastia route.

This final departure is because La Méridionale (the blue ferries) lost the DSP (delegation of public services) on the main routes between Marseille and Ajaccio/Bastia.

La Méridionale will now serve the connections with Propriano and Porto-Vecchio, for a period of 15 months, because that’s the duration of the actual so-called ‘short’ DSP.
Corsica Linea (the red ships) will operate solo between Marseille, Ajaccio, Bastia and Ile-Rousse .

La Méridionale is now preparing for the ‘long’ DSP of 8-10 years. For that purpose, they agreed to acquire LIVERPOOL SEAWAYS from DFDS.

GIROLATA will be dry-docked in Marseille. What her role will be afterwards is unclear.

HSC HELLENIC HIGHSPEED’s charter to Fast Ferries expired successfully a few days ago. During the summer season of 2019, the ship has been reliable and consistent in her program on the Rafina-Tinos-Mykonos-Naxos run. It is rumored that her next mission will probably be to the Western Mediterranean as she is expected to be introduced on the Tanger-Cadiz run on behalf of AML for the next summer season.