Positive Solution For Tirrenia Coming Closer

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Tirrenia in Amministrazione Straordinaria, the State-controlled ‘bad company’ creditor of EUR 180 million (the sale price partially unpaid), revealed that Moby has rejected the last proposal of debt restructuring put on the table.

However, both parties involved in the matter seem to come closer to a positive ending. They have already agreed some of the terms: only 80% of the EUR 180 million credit will be refunded, with a first payment (20% of this sum) this year and the remaining part in 2024.

It’s still missing an agreement on the loan guarantees.

Last week, Milan’s public prosecutors submitted a bankruptcy request for Moby’s subsidiary Compagnia Italiana di navigazione (CIN), the court will take a decision on May 6. When filing its ‘concordato’ proposal, Moby confirmed its intention to present an out-of-court restructuring plan for CIN and said that the CIN filing had been postponed by a few days to allow for conclusion of the negotiations with the administrators of Tirrenia AS (which is in extraordinary administration).

RoRo Merry-Go-Round

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DFDS and CLdN have sold ships to each other, and chartered them back.

  • Ship: MELEQ renamed ACACIA SEAWAYS (Lithuania).
  • Ownership: from CLdN to DFDS.
  • Charter: ACACIA SEAWAYS has been chartered back for continued operation on CLdN’s Zeebrugge-Purfleet-Esbjerg route.
  • Remark: she is a sistership of GARDENIA SEAWAYS and TULIPA SEAWAYS (Vlaardingen – Felixstowe)
  • Ship: GOTHIA SEAWAYS renamed MAXINE (Isle of Man).
  • Ownership: from DFDS to CLdN.
  • Charter: MAXINE has been chartered back to DFDS for continued service in DFDS’ Baltic network during April-May and is expected to join DFDS’s new Calais – Sheerness freight-only service scheduled to commence on 1 June.
  • Remark: She is one of the 3 Wagenborg vessels which were built for the StoraEnso Zeebrugge – Göteborg service. A company within the CLdN sphere owns sister vessel SOMERSET (operated by Stena Line).
  • Ship: UNDINE renamed LIDER TRABZON.
  • Ownership: from CLdN to unknown.

Westcon Yards Delivers NESVIK

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Ferry NESVIK left the Westcon Yards to start its career with Norled.

The electric ferry has been designed by LMG Marin. It will be used on Hjelmeland-Nesvik-Skipavikis. This is a ferry route which crosses the Hjelmelandsfjord and Ombofjord in Rogaland, Norway.

NESVIK is the sister ferry to HYDRA, which is also being built at Westcon. Both vessels are designed to use as little energy as possible. HYDRA will be the world’s first hydrogen-powered ferry, but NESVIK can also be upgraded to hydrogen in the long term.

PORTS

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Port Of Dublin Feels The Effect Of Brexit

Commenting on the Q1 2021 figures, Dublin Port’s Chief Executive, Eamonn O’Reilly, said:

  • Brexit was the main cause of a very weak Q1 with overall cargo volumes back by 15.2% However, it is too early yet to say what the long-term effects of Brexit will be.
  • Optimism: landbridge will re-establish itself as a fast and cost-effective option for the movement of time sensitive goods to and from Continental Europe in the months ahead. (with P&O and Irish Ferries both on Irish Sea and Calais-Dover).
  • Worries: “Back in 1990, before the Single European Market was established, more than a third of Ro-Ro trade chose services to and from Northern Irish ports rather than use services in and out of Dublin Port. We won’t get a proper sense until later in the year as to how much of the 29% decline we have seen in GB RoRo trade is due to the new border regimes and whether this dislocation will be a permanent feature for the years ahead or not.”
  • Positive: +18% in Ro-Ro and Lo-Lo volumes on direct services with Continental Europe. the capacity needed for the changes in demand patterns which Brexit has caused.
  • Conclusion: “If we do see a sustained step change downwards in volumes on routes to GB because of Brexit, I expect that the pivoting of trade from GB to Continental Europe will, in time, re-establish the long-term growth trends we have seen in Dublin Port for many decades.”

IN THE MEDIA

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Greece Releases Protocols For Ferry Travel

“Τhe green digital certificate, the rapid tests and self tests will be used for voyages with ferries,” Greece’s Shipping and Island Policy minister Yiannis Plakiotakis announced on Tuesday.

He said that ferries with cabins will start with 55% occupancy and 50% for ferries without cabins.

SHORT NEWS

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BLUE STAR PATMOS On The North Aegean In June

BLUE STAR PATMOS will enter service on the Piraeus-Mykonos-Mesta (Chios)-Sigri (Lesvos) line, June 12. The ship will serve that line once a week (every Saturday) until September 11.

Blue Star Ferries has been operating that line every summer since 2019.

Blue Cruises’ NISSOS CHRISSI arrived in Crete

On April 18, Blue Cruise’s NISSOS CHRISI (ex- RUNGHOLT 1992) arrived under tow at the port of Souda (Crete) after the completion of her extensive conversion at Perama (Atsalaki Shipyards).

She was purchased in October 2019 from German W.D.R. and will probably serve the Kasteli – Gramvoussa – Balo line.