FERRY SHIPPING

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Fjord 1’s Third Quarter: Unchanged Strategic Outlook

  • Revenue and EBITDA growth on the back of a growing portfolio of fully electric ferry routes
  • Revenue +12% and EBITDA margin of 43% in Q3-20
  • Ferry revenue up by 14%, with 44% EBITDA margin
  • Contract structures insulate Ferry and Passenger Boats from varying traffic volumes
  • Stable operating profit for Catering despite revenue reduction
  • Negative results from Joint Ventures and associates in Tourism in the high season due to Covid-19 travel restrictions
  • Investments totalled NOK 281 million in Q3, net of NOK 28 million in vessel NOx compensation
  • Vessel newbuild programme for 2017-2020 completed
  • Electrification projects progressing, although finalization of some projects will slip into 2021
  • Renewal of vessel portfolio continues. One vessel under construction in Turkey, and three ferry retrofitting projects to further increase the electrification ratio

Maiden Call of the New Ro-Ro Ship ECO VALENCIA in Livorno

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The newly built ro-ro vessel ECO VALENCIA recently delivered to Grimaldi Group by Nanjing Jinling shipyard in China made her maiden call in the port of Livorno. Dr Emanuele Grimaldi, CEO of the company, and his son Guido Grimaldi, sales manager of Grimaldi Euromed, were at the quay for a welcome.

The ship, which is the first of a series of 12 (of which three are for Finnlines), entered into service on the line linking Livorno and Savona in Italy, with Barcelona and Valencia in Spain.

ECO VALENCIA and her sister ships have a length of 238m and will be able to transport over 7,800 lane meters of rolling units, equivalent to above 500 trailers. The design was developed in a fruitful cooperation between the Grimaldi Group, Nanjing Jinling Shipyard and Knud E. Hansen.

All these vessels will be ‘ultra green’ with 600m2 of solar panels, large-capacity batteries to achieve zero emissions in port and a peak shaving system. Furthermore, an air lubrication system is included so the ship will ride on a carpet of micro bubbles, hereby reducing the frictional resistance between the hull and the water.

Wallenius SOL adds Travemünde on Northbound Route

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From mid-January 2021, Wallenius SOL will add Travemünde on the northbound route Zeebrugge–Antwerpen–Travemünde–Vaasa.

The customers have been requesting two-way traffic between the Ostrobothnia region in Finland and Travemünde for some time now. The increased demand for northbound transports, together with the fact that two new vessels (*) will be taken into use in 2021, has enabled a new call in Travemünde on the northbound route to Ostrobothnia.

(*) FIONIA SEA, JUTLANDIA SEA

Isle of Man Ship Registry Chosen to Flag New Zealand’s 2 New Interislander Ferries

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The Isle of Man Ship Registry has been selected as the flag state to oversee construction of two rail-enabled ropax ferries that will connect New Zealand’s North and South Islands.

KiwiRail has commissioned the future-proofed vessels to modernise its fleet of ferries serving the Cook Strait. KiwiRail’s Interislander service connects New Zealand’s State Highway and national rail networks between the capital city Wellington in the North Island and Picton in the South Island. The Interislander carries approximately 850,000 passengers, 250,000 cars and up to NZ$14 billion worth of freight annually.

The search to find a preferred shipyard began last year when KiwiRail issued an Expression of Interest to international shipyards. The selection of a successful shipyard is due to be completed in the next few months. KiwiRail has now appointed the Isle of Man Ship Registry as the newbuilding Flag. The Isle of Man Ship Registry will appoint and work in partnership with KiwiRail’s chosen classification society, overseeing the build process once a shipyard has been confirmed.

The two 220m Ropax ferries, which are being designed by OSK-ShipTech, will each be capable of carrying about 1,900 passengers. They will also have a capacity of approximately 3,600 lane metres, allowing them to transport a combination of vehicles including up to 40 sixty-foot rail wagons.

The new ferries will trigger significant changes to the Wellington and Waitohi Picton waterfronts, including new ferry berths, terminals and both rail and road connections to ensure the benefits of the new ferries are fully realised. The ships are targeted to enter service in the mid-2020s, replacing the existing three-vessel Interislander fleet.

The vessels will be diesel electric hybrid power, with diesel generators and batteries providing electrical power for azimuth thruster propulsion.

FERRY PORTS

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The head of Porto Livorno 2000, Matteo Savelli (who is also CEO of Toremar) announced to the newspaper ‘Il Tirreno’, that they will appeal against the decision from the regional administrative court in Tuscany which stated that the Grimaldi-participated Sintermar Darsena Toscana terminal can handle also passengers, in addition to ro-ro cargo. Thus rejecting the appeal promoted by Porto Livorno 2000, the passenger terminal controlled by Moby and participated by MSC.

Porto Livorno 2000 is convinced to be the only terminal operator in the port with the authorization to handle passengers from cruise vessels and ferries following a public tender won few years ago. That’s the reason why it opposed the concession released in the recent past by the local port authority for a second ro-pax terminal to Sintermar Darsena Toscana (Grimaldi).

The Florence-based administrative regional court stated that Porto Livorno 2000 cannot be the only passenger terminal of the port recalling also the competition rules introduced both by in the national and in the EU legal framework.

The Port Authority of Valencia Selects Baleària’s Offer to Build the New Passenger Terminal

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The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of Valencia has selected the offer presented by Baleària for the construction and management of the new public passenger terminal in the Port of València.

This infrastructure will be located between the Poniente Quay and the Espigón del Turia Quay, in the area previously occupied by the Unión Naval de Valencia shipyard.

The terminal will occupy approximately 100,000 m2 and its concession will be granted for a period of 35 years, extendable to a maximum of 50 years.

TECHNOLOGY

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Danish Hydrogen Conversion Project

The project On hydrogen across the fjord will investigate how some of the ferries sailing on the Danish Limfjord can be converted to sail on hydrogen.

Skive Municipality, Morsø Municipality and Thisted Municipality have joined forces with some of Denmark’s most skilled technology suppliers to investigate how the Fursund ferry, MJØLNER FUR, and the Feggesund ferry, FEGGESUND, can be rebuilt to sail on hydrogen .

IN THE MEDIA

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Success in shipping as we know, is all about timing. In a Brexit and Covid world with RoRo values falling, this may present buying opportunities considering the average life of a RoRo is just over 30 years.

Essentially, freight capacity has been bought by the UK Government for the first 6 months of 2021 for vessels to call regularly into Felixstowe, Harwich, Hull, Newhaven, Poole, Portsmouth, Teesport and Tilbury as a hedge against likely congestion at gateway Dover and a hard Brexit. However, with all of Europe likely to be grappling with suppressed demand from Covid-19 for the best part of 2021, combined with an impressive armada of newbuild deliveries confirmed to hit European waters over the next 24 months – was it really necessary – noting the UK is the number one demand market for straight ramp RoRo trade?

Brexit Chaos: to Roll-on or Roll-off?

By | 2020 Newsletter week 47 | No Comments

Success in shipping as we know, is all about timing. In a Brexit and Covid world with RoRo values falling, this may present buying opportunities considering the average life of a RoRo is just over 30 years.

Essentially, freight capacity has been bought by the UK Government for the first 6 months of 2021 for vessels to call regularly into Felixstowe, Harwich, Hull, Newhaven, Poole, Portsmouth, Teesport and Tilbury as a hedge against likely congestion at gateway Dover and a hard Brexit. However, with all of Europe likely to be grappling with suppressed demand from Covid-19 for the best part of 2021, combined with an impressive armada of newbuild deliveries confirmed to hit European waters over the next 24 months – was it really necessary – noting the UK is the number one demand market for straight ramp RoRo trade?