Incat 045 CONDOR RAPIDE (1997) has been acquired by Trasmapi.
This high-speed vessel joins the recently acquired HSC FAIRWEATHER and HSC CHENEGA that have left the port of Ketchikan in Alaska this week.
Trasmapi operates a regular line for passengers and vehicles between the so-called Pitiusas (Ibiza and Formentera), in the Balearic Islands.
The company was about to add T&T EXPRESS (Incat 046), but that vessel sank during its delivery voyage, on 24 April 2021.
The Vincenzo Onorato controlled ferry company Moby and the subsidiary Tirrenia CIN received the green light from the Court of Milan to go ahead with the requested ‘concordato preventivo’ procedure.
The aim of the procedure is to reach a voluntary agreement with its business creditors, such as suppliers, banks, bond holders, Tirrenia in Amministrazione Straordinaria and others.
Total amount: roughly EUR 700 million.
Moby’s creditors will be called to express their vote on the proposed debt-restructuring plan on December 13th, while the same ‘meeting’ for Tirrenia Cin’s creditors will be one week later (December, 20th).
NLG – Navigazione Libera del Golfo’s managing director, Maurizio Aponte, confirmed to Ferry Shipping News that he high-speed ferry ISOLA DI CAPRAIA is being chartered from Tirrenia CIN and thus continued operating the maritime bridge between the port of Termoli and the Tremiti islands.
The same vessel had been deployed for many years assuring the maritime continuity in the Adriatic Sea. Up to last June 30th, the service was covered by Tirrenia CIN while NLG was granted the same subsidized link for the next three years, starting from July 1st.
ISOLA DI CAPRAIA is one of the five assets which will be put up for sale, according to Tirrenia CIN’s financial restructuring plan.
The news was already announced in FSN25, based on a stock exchange release from SadoKisen.
Now FRS Iberia confirmed the purchase of Incat 068 (2015). The vessel will be renamed as LEVANTE JET and will have the capacity to transport 692 passengers and 151 vehicles, or 330 lane metres of cargo.
After delivery to FRS in Japan, the vessel will be transferred to Spain and will arrive at the port of Algeciras in August, where she will be fitted out and painted in line with the recently updated FRS corporate identity.
The Governments of Greece and Cyprus decided to give another chance to the sea connection between the ports of Piraeus and Limassol, after the fruitless tender that took place in January 2021.
On July 8, Fast Ferries’ HSC THUNDER will be introduced on the new Piraeus-Syros-Mykonos-Naxos line.
The ship will depart every noon at 12.00 from the port of Piraeus and will return from Naxos calling at the same ports at 17.00.
A new package of measures has been announced for all passengers that wish to travel by ferry. More specifically they should have one of the following (as from July 5):
<12 years old kids are exempted from the above obligation
12-18 years old: a negative self-test certificate is required
For the return from the islands, everyone over 12 years old should have done a self-test.
June statistics
-21.9% passengers 218,950
-22.6% cars 58,390
+4.6% cargo units 31,440 units
Q2 statistics
+10.2% passengers 427,767
+22.7% cars 125,713
+6% cargo units 91,990 units
CEO of Tallink Grupp Paavo Nõgene said:
“The statistics of 2020 and 2021 have to be carefully considered in each of the years’ context as the pandemic situation and people’s travel habits and confidence were very different in the two years in question. In 2020, April was the toughest month with May seeing some level of easing of restrictions. For example, commuter traffic between Estonia and Finland recommenced earlier last year already in mid-May and tourism traffic recommenced in mid-June. This year, we only saw some level of re-opening of borders with Finland after 21 June, so the vast majority of the quarter has seen heavy restrictions on all routes and traffic.
“Also, consumer confidence in terms of travel was slightly higher in 2020 as most people were optimistic that the spring lock-downs had managed to put a stop to the pandemic spread and life was slowly returning to normal after the first wave. What we are seeing in 2021, however, is this confidence taking a slight knock due to the new waves of the pandemic we have experienced since autumn 2020 and also the significant confusion around travel rules as the restrictions rapidly and continuously change.
“This, thankfully, is balanced by the EU reaching at least some agreements on making travel rules more uniform across the union and also the progress made with vaccination programmes in all our home markets. I sincerely hope that the simplification of rules and greater immunity achieved in our countries as a result of vaccination roll-out, will boost traveler confidence and more people are happy to take some respite from the restrictions at least with trips to their neighbouring countries this summer.“
Freight ferry booking agency Motis gives more information about the earlier announced United Seaways service from Tangiers to Poole. (see Ferry Shipping News week 9)
ECO CATANIA, the new ro-ro vessel delivered to the Grimaldi Group in early June, was christened on July 7, at the port of Catania.
This is the fifth of 12 hybrid ships belonging to the innovative GG5G (Grimaldi Green 5th Generation) class and ordered from the Chinese Jinling shipyard. (design Knud E. Hansen and Grimaldi)
The event was attended, among others, by representatives of local authorities and the port community of Catania and a large representation of the main Sicilian customers of the Neapolitan shipping company. The ceremony began with greetings from Catania Mayor Salvo Pogliese, Eastern Sicily Sea Port System Authority Commissioner Alberto Chiovelli, Eastern Sicily Maritime Director Giancarlo Russo, and Grimaldi Group Executive Manager Eugenio Grimaldi (photo below).
Catania Metropolitan Archbishop Mons. Salvatore Gristina then proceeded to the bless the Eco Catania. The ceremony ended with the cutting of the ribbon by the Godmother Letizia Santonocito, Mayor Pogliese’s wife, and the traditional breaking of the bottle.