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2019 Newsletter week 8

Feb 21
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FERRY SHIPPING

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DP World Acquires P&O Ferries Again

DP World PLC announced the acquisition of the holding company of P&O Ferries and P&O Ferrymasters for a purchase consideration of GBP322 million.

The transaction is subject to customary completion conditions and is expected to close in the first half of 2019.

DP World acquired the British company in 2006, but soon sold off P&O Ferries to its major shareholder, Dubai World. Now it is buying it back from Dubai World.

DP World Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said earlier that the indecisiveness of British politicians on the Brexit was obstructing the company’s ability to plan for their UK operations (according to Reuters).

P&O Ferries operates a fleet of 21 vessels on the Short Sea, North Sea and Irish Sea sectors across 11 ports.

Feb 21
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Stena Roro Acquires Ropax Vessel In Japan

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Stena RoRo has purchased the ferry YAMATO from the Japanese shipping company Hankyu Ferry.  The vessel will be rebuilt at a shipyard in Europe and be fully adapted to European standards, after which it will be chartered out. This process will begin in spring 2020 and the ferry is estimated to be in traffic by the summer.

“On the European market, demand is greater than availability for this type of vessel, which is why we have turned to the Asian market, primarily Japan”, says Per Westling, CEO Stena RoRo.

Facts: Length 195m, Speed 23.5 knots, Lane metres 2,350, Build year 2003

Feb 21
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Ultimatum For The New Owners Of The Ferry Terminal In Livorno

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The Tuscan Region revealed this week that the local port authority in Livorno asked the winners of the public tender launched for the Porto Livorno 2000 ro-pax terminal, to close the deal before the end of March.

Last summer Moby (through Sinergest, Moby and Ltm) and Marinvest (MSC group) were officially awarded the privatization procedure aimed at selling a 66% stake in the company for € 10.7 million and in change for € 91 million in the next two to three decades.

Before closing the deal the winners are asking the port authority to clarify whether Porto Livorno 2000 will be or not the only ferry and cruise terminal active in Livorno since there is still pending a legal dispute concerning Grimaldi’s ro-pax traffic handled at the nearby Sintermar Darsena Toscana terminal.

Feb 21
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Eurotunnel Promises A Brexit-Proof Holiday

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A mailshot from Eurotunnel might indicate that bookings for Easter are through the floor. “Do you want to get on and make holiday plans, but feel a little hesitant? We want to take this opportunity to reassure you that we are Brexit-ready,” says the Eurotunnel message.

On top of the existing flexible booking terms (amending ticket free of charge up to 24 hours in advance), Eurotunnel introduced a new Brexit-proof promise: free cancellations up to 7 days before travel (if booked before end of February, for travel between 14 March and 30 September).

Feb 21
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Social Unrest At La Meridionale

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What happens now at La Meridionale is very unusual for this ferry company belonging to the STEF Group: there is social agitation.

The reason is that La Meridionale will only be allowed to sail to Bastia, Ile-Rousse and Porto-Vecchio, and no longer to the major port of Ajaccio, and Propriano.

The case has to do with the delegation of public services (starting in October, for a duration of 15 months).

The candidature of Corsica Linea was retained for five ports. Since Corsica Linea and La Meridionale tendered separately, this would mean that the latter will be excluded from these ports.

Because the unions fear the fact that one vessel might be withdrawn from the service, making crews redundant, they started to call for action.

The company announced they will appeal against the decision.

Feb 21
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Toll Unveils New Australian Ship

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Australia’s newest and biggest cargo ship was named as TASMANIAN ACHIEVER II at a special ceremony in Burnie, on Sunday 17 February.

TASMANIAN ACHIEVER II is the largest general cargo ship to fly the Australian flag and is set to enter service on 1 March, carrying goods between the Port of Melbourne and the Tasmanian Port of Burnie.

The new ship will make the 396 km Bass Strait crossing between Melbourne and Burnie in 13 hours, an hour faster than its predecessor and has capacity to carry 40 per cent more cargo, both in trucks or in containers.

TASMANIAN ACHIEVER II’S identical sister ship, VICTORIAN RELIANCE II will be named at a ceremony scheduled next weekend at Toll’s wharf in Webb Dock, Port of Melbourne.

Photo: Mr Will Hodgman, Premier of Tasmania; John Mullen, Toll Group Chairman; Hayley Burr, Tasmania Achiever II Junior Sponsor; and Taneki Ono, Japan Post First Executive Officer.

Feb 21
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Irish Ferries Invests Four Million Euro In ULYSSES Upgrade

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The ferry ULYSSES returned to Dublin on 13 February, following an extensive dry dock investment at Cammell Laird shipyard in Merseyside.

The four-week upgrade was undertaken to complete refurbishment and maintenance work and will see the Ulysses return to service looking like new, having had new propellers, new rudder components, a full refurbishment of her stern thruster and other underwater works. Investment didn’t stop there, with engine overhauls and vehicle deck painting programmes.

Feb 21
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SAOS Ferries Has A Ship For Sale

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Mr. Fotis Manousis of SAOS Ferries, announced -during a radio interview – that from next October his ferries will operate in the Northern Sporades, suspending their operations at the Alexandroupoli-Samothrace run.

At the same time, he said that he is looking for a buyer for the ship SAONISOS. The ship’s price in the market is EUR 6 million.

Feb 21
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Ferry AURELIA En Route From Tirrenia To MSC Group

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Ferry AURELIA En Route From Tirrenia To MSC Group

The veteran ferry AURELIA seems to have found a new owner. Several local sources suggest that the vessel, built 38 years ago in Italy at the Castellammare di Stabia shipyard, has just been sold by Tirrenia to a company somehow linked to the Gianluigi Aponte-controlled Mediterranean Shipping Company group.

AURELIA has been deployed for the last few years in charter to SNAV (ferry company also owned by Aponte) on the Ancona – Split route in the Adriatic Sea and is likely to keep on serving the same link in the near future. The vessel has already been reflagged (from Italy to Cyprus) and also the technical management should have been passed on to MSC Shipmanagement Ltd Cyprus.

AURELIA was firstly circulated on the market, searching for a potential buyer from Unitramp Shipbrokers of Italy in November, and the price may stand around € 5 million according to some sources. This ro-pax ferry has: 148 meters length, 25,4 meters beam, 2,280 passenger capacity and some 1,000 lane meters of garage.