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2021 Newsletter week 45

Nov 11
4

Scandlines orders zero-emission freight ferry for the Puttgarden-Rødby route

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An emission-free freight ferry will be built for Scandlines

  • Design and builders: LMG Marin and Cemre Shipyard
  • The ferry will enter service in 2024
  • Route Puttgarden-Rødby
  • Capacity: 66 freight units (+23% compared to the ships it will replace, HOLGER DANSKE and KRONPRINS FREDERIK).
  • Crossing time 1 hour, if fully electric
  • Crossing time 45 min. if hybrid
  • The ferry can also be used as backup ferry for one the four current double-ended ferries
  • Berth 3 in Rødby and Berth 1 in Puttgarden must be rebuilt to also load lorries on the upper deck.
  • A new lorry storage area will be established in the terminal of Puttgarden.
  • The ferry will initially exclusively charge in Rødby. Already in 2019, Scandlines invested in a 50 kV / 25 MW power cable to Færgevej in Rødbyhavn. This cable will now be extended to the ferry berths, where a transformer and charging station will be installed. In the longer run, the plan is to also be able to charge in Puttgarden when a good solution has been found for the purchase of green energy.
  • The modular construction of the vessel makes it possible to later adjust the vessel in order to also carry cars.
  • Length: 147.4 m
  • number of passengers: 140
  • Service speed: 18 knots
Nov 11
4

Finnlines’ financial review January–September 2021: result on the upturn during Q3

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January–September 2021

+17% Revenue EUR 425.9 million (EUR 363.1 million in 2020).

+27% Result EUR 69.0 million (EUR 54.2 million)

EBITDA EUR 121.2 (107.2) million

Cargo units 583,000 (536,000 in 2020)

Cars 124,000 (102,000)

Tons of freight not possible to measure in units 1,041,000 (811,000)

Passengers and truck drivers 439,000 (390,000)

  • An upward trend continued during Q3 when cargo volumes increased nearly on all routes.
  • The automotive industry suffered from shortage of components and the summer stoppage was longer than anticipated. However, as the Finnlines fleet consists of vessels in different sizes, capacity could be moved from routes with temporarily declining demand to others where larger capacity was needed.
  • When travel restrictions were gradually eased, recreational travel recovered although passenger numbers remained far below the normal level.
  • To reach the ambitious goal of becoming carbon neutral, it may be necessary to modify existing ships with new tanks and engines so that they can run on new types of fuel. However, at current rates of production, zero-carbon fuels are not commercially available at the scale needed for the global fleet. Today, Finnlines concentrates on new battery technology, hydrodynamic design in vessels, air lubrication systems and solar panels on its newbuilds. Several existing ships will be equipped to use onshore power where available. Moreover, gradual transition to carbon-free and renewable fuels is being investigated.
  • The construction of three hybrid ro-ro vessels and two state-of-the-art ro-pax vessels is proceeding.
  • Energy efficiency is the best way to reduce the emissions and reach immediate results.
Nov 11
4

Adria Ferries welcomes Eurizon as new minority shareholders

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Ancona-based Adria Ferries has welcomed Eurizon as new shareholder.

Stake is 33.3%, with and an option to grow to 43.3% before 31 December 2023.

Formally, the new minority shareholders of the company founded and controlled by Alberto Rossi, will be two investment funds: Eurizon Iter and Eurizon Iter Eltif.

They will be managed by Iter Capital Partners, a company founded by Vito Gamberale.

Adria Ferries is active in the Adriatic Sea on two routes linking Ancona and Bari with Durrës.

The fleet consist of three ro-pax ships AF CLAUDIA, AF MARINA and AF FRANCESCA.

In 2020 the company’s revenue was EUR 36 million, EBITDA 9 million and net financial position 21.4 million.

Nov 11
6

Moby’s new flagship launched at GSI shipyard

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The new ropax MOBY FANTASY has been launched at the GSI shipyard in Guangzhou, on Saturday 7 November.

She is the first of two new generation vessels set to enter service from 2023.

The ferries have been designed by OSK Shiptech.

MOBY FANTASY:

237m | gross tonnage 69,500 | 2,500 passengers | 550 cabins |

3,800 lane metres for 1,300 cars or 300 trucks |

speed 23.5 to maximum 25 knots | LNG-ready |

They were ordered by Fratelli Onorato Armatori, they are controlled by LCBC Leasing and will be sub-chartered to Moby for the Livorno – Olbia link.

Nov 11
4

KiwiRail: replacement ferry to boost Interislander service

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KiwiRail has chartered the CLdN Kawasaki-type roro VALENTINE for an initial 12 months.

It is due to arrive in mid-December.

Ropax KAIARAHI (ex STENA ALEGRA) requires major repairs to its gearbox after its sudden failure, and those repairs are expected to take at least until March.

The remaining two Interislander ferries, ARATERE and KAITAKI cannot serve the market alone. The freight-only ferry will free up space for passengers and their vehicles on the other ferries, ensuring New Zealanders can travel during the summer holiday season.

Nov 11
4

KiwiRail: outstanding website explains the new ship and port projects

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KiwiRail has ordered two brand-new, bigger, hybrid ferries.

(see Ferry Shipping News 1 July 2021)

An outstanding public website explains all details and answers a lot of questions.

Kiwirail also started a consultation for the upgrading of the Wellington / Kaiwharawhara Interislander ferry terminal.

Consultation on the terminal redevelopment
Everything you want to know about the new ferries
Nov 11
4

Irish Ferries doubles frequency on Calais-Dover A departure every 2,5 hours

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DFDS sold CALAIS SEAWAYS to Irish Continental Group PLC.

Built as PRINS FILIP in 1992, this is a ferry that has been working for most Channel operators on routes as Ostend-Dover, Ostend-Ramsgate, Le Havre-Portsmouth and Calais-Dover.

She will now serve the Dover – Calais route again, operated by Irish Ferries as ISLE OF INNISFREE.

Andrew Sheen, Irish Ferries Managing Director, said: “We are delighted be able to add a second ship to our Dover-Calais route, with the ship doubling our frequency with a departure every 2 ½ hours rather than the current 5 hours between sailings.

Passenger capacity: 1,140 – freight: 83 units

Nov 11
4

Greek Prime Minister K. Mitsotakis: Short-haul ships could be electric in the future

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On the occasion of the 26th United Nations Conference in Glasgow, the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis gave an interview to SkyNews. The interview focused on energy and maritime policy, among others. The basic parts of that interview are:

 

Question: Greece owns about one-fifth of the world’s fleet. Shipping is one of the activities that is most responsible for emissions right now. How can this be stopped?

Pr. Minister: Let’s put things in perspective. 90% of world trade is done by ship. Shipping is responsible for 3% of world emissions. It’s not trivial, but it’s not huge. Shipping should take its share. But it is not clear what technology will solve the problem. That’s why we need more research and development (R&D). We need to focus more on the solutions that are currently being developed.

Question: Are we talking about nuclear-powered ships or hydrogen-powered ships?

Pr. Minister: No, hydrogen is probably the most likely scenario. But we are the managers and we have to work with the shipyards, we have to work with the manufacturers of large machinery types. They are the ones who will guide the technological innovations. Shipping will be the customer of the technology, they will produce. But at the same time, we need to have a vision for the future of shipping. That is why we are setting up, in cooperation with the European Union, a research institute to explore the future of sustainable shipping. Because honestly now we do not have the answer.

Finally, referring to the prospects of energy transition of the Hellenic Coastal Fleet, the Greek Prime Minister stressed the following: “…when we talk, for example, about shipping and short-haul ships, one could imagine that these ships could be electric in the future.”

Source: Athens News Agency – Photo: Elektra

Nov 11
4

Brittany Ferries sees surge in reservations for travel next summer

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The booking boost for summer 2022 has brought renewed optimism, says a Brittany Ferries press release (link below).

+48% more passengers for July-September 2022 (188,878 by the end of October 2021) compared to end of October 2019 (the last pre-Covid comparison year).

+40% UK-France

+35% UK-Spain

+234% France-Ireland

This positive news for Brittany Ferries follows welcome assistance from the French state.

  • €45 million was recently authorised by Paris to compensate for passenger travel restrictions that caused Brittany Ferries’ turnover to plummet by €220m in 2020 alone.
  • A 10 million waiver for debt contracted with ADEME*
  • 6 million aid from the Brittany Region.
  • Brittany Ferries has welcomed the extension of so-called “net wage” provisions for French sailors. Announced by president Macron at Les assises de l’économie de la Mer conference in September, this tax break has been extended for three years.

*ADEME is a French state institution that helps companies transition to more environmentally friendly practices. For Brittany Ferries that included support to retro-fit exhaust emission scrubbers to six ships, cutting sulphur and particulate emissions from funnel gases.

“Amid a renewed sense of optimism, I must also add a note of caution,”said CEO Christophe Mathieu. “We still have much work to do in the years ahead. For example, we must not forget the €117 million loan granted last year, which we have repay.”

Figures for the summer seasons of 2020 and 2021 underline just how difficult the last two years have been for Brittany Ferries, as well as the size of the challenge ahead. Around 80 percent of the company’s income comes from passenger traffic and on some lines this dropped to virtually zero. See detailed figures in the press release.

Press release