DFDS route Cuxhaven – Immingham to be upgraded as from 1 February
Stena Line and Noord Natie Ventspils Terminals (NNVT) have signed a 20-year contract securing the continuous ferry operation from the Freeport of Ventspils in Latvia.
This long-term agreement is an important part of Stena Lines expansion in the Baltic Sea and the route between Ventspils and Nynäshamn in Sweden.
During 2021 two large modern RoPax vessels will start operating on the route increasing the freight capacity with 30 %. (STENA SCANDICA & STENA BALTICA = lengthened STENA LAGAN & STENA MERSEY)
2020 was a tough year for Ports of Normandy’s three ports – Caen-Ouistreham, Cherbourg and Dieppe.
2021 saw a very strong increase in traffic and the service offering to Ireland through Cherbourg with up to 12 departures a week (to Dublin and Rosslare).
The future:
Corvus – Toyota Partnership: First Marine Fuel-Cell On A Vessel In 2023
Corvus Energy is set to start development and production of sustainable, large scale maritime-certified hydrogen fuel-cell systems in partnership with Toyota
“Adding fuel-cell modules to our product portfolio is a natural step for Corvus and advances our vision to be the leading supplier of zero-emission marine solutions. Fuel-cell technology has reached a maturity level where scale-up of systems will be the next step. Toyota is in the forefront of the development and is by far the best partner for us to make this a success,” said Corvus Energy CEO Geir Bjørkeli.
Watch the video of the official presentation, with Norway’s Prime Minister
Deltamarin supported Flexens in its Power2AX project by conducting a ferry comparison study with the aim of investigating the substitution of diesel-fuelled ferries with hydrogen ferries in the Åland archipelago.
Flexens Oy Ab is a Finnish project development company.
Flexen’s unique Power2AX project focuses on demonstrating a 100% renewable energy system in the Åland Islands.
Deltamarin’s study provides an estimation of the technical feasibility of introducing fuel cell ferries in the Åland archipelago that utilise hydrogen as fuel.
ESPO’s Port Pro of the Month: Tom Hautekiet, Port of Zeebrugge
This month, Tom Hautekiet tells ESPO all about the Port of Zeebrugge.
Discover how he got into the port sector, how the Port of Zeebrugge handled the COVID-19 crisis and Brexit, and learn more about his views on the role of a port managing body and how a port can contribute to the decarbonization of the transport and logistics chain.
The Brussels-based NGO continues to denounce that many ships are not scrapped according to the laws.
On a positive note: Carnival Corporation receives the 2020 award for best ship recycling practice. Leading by example, the American cruise shipping giant sets a standard the remaining of the cruise and shipping sector can follow.
After a 40-year presence in the Adriatic service, the Minoan Lines branding on the ships will probably leave the Adriatic Sea following the recent Grimaldi Lines moves. CRUISE EUROPA and CRUISE OLYMPIA will be replaced by the smaller ZEUS PALACE and CRUISE OLBIA on the traditional Patras – Igoumenitsa – Ancona Line. In any case, Grimaldi seems to reduce its freight capacity (lane metres) on the Patras – Ancona line, fact that will probably affect fares as well.
On 1 February 2021, BLUE STAR DELOS performed her sea trials after her recent scrubber conversion. The “blue” ship went out of service on 4 November 2020 in order to undergo scheduled repairs, dry docking and scrubber conversion. She will return in service on February 8, 2021.
Photo: www.arxipelagos.com
On 4 February 2021, Seajets started a 30-day charter of Golden Star Ferries’ SUPERFERRY II. She replaces AQUA BLUE on the Lavrion – Agios Efstratios – Lemnos – Kavala line.
AQUA BLUE is having her annual refit and will resume service in March.
Viking Line’s new destinations for the summer of 2021 are Riga and Visby, with the ferry GABRIELLA, departing from Helsinki.
Mariehamn, which was a very popular destination last summer, is also included in this year’s cruise offer.
From 28 January and two weeks forward STENA VINGA will sail 25 departures on the Baltic Sea during the dry docking of Stena Spirit. STENA VINGA recently sailed on the Göteborg – Kiel route and before that 3 months on the Irish Sea.
La Méridionale’s PELAGOS has been withdrawn from the route Marseille – Morocco because of pandemic-related restrictions. She immediately found a job: she is now on charter to Corsica Linea, as replacement for the damaged PAGLIA ORBA (which hit the bottom in Bastia last week 25/1). She arrived in Ajaccio for the first time on 1 February.
Baleària resumes its passenger route between the United States and the Bahamas on 10 February. The shipping company has obtained approval from the Bahamas government to move passengers again, after several months of cargo-only services due to pandemic restrictions.
Fast ferry JAUME II will make four trips a week (3 to Bimini and 1 to Grand Bahama)
Baleària started replacing the engines of fast ferry AVEMAR DOS with more efficient and more powerful ones. The retrofit, which will take place until May at the Navantia shipyard in Cádiz, involves the replacement of the current engines with the latest version of the same model (MTU 1163 M84). These allow fuel consumption to be reduced by 8% thanks to the latest electronic injection management systems and an improvement in the components involved in combustion. This is the second remotorization carried out on this ship in six years.
CTMA Says Goodbye to MADELEINE
CTMA has announced that the veteran ferry MADELEINE (MarineTraffic) will be ‘dismantled’. She’s the former LEINSTER (1981).
In the meanwhile, a crew has arrived in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to bring the recently acquired ferry VILLA DE TEROR to Canada.
RFI’s New Ferry IGINIA Almost Completed
The trainferry IGINIA commissioned by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana is being completed by the temporary association of companies composed by T. Mariotti and San Giorgio del Porto shipyards in Genoa.
The vessel is a one-way roro intended for the transport of railway carriages and wagons, passengers, wheeled vehicles for connections in the Strait of Messina.
The construction works started in 2019, after the technical launch took place in San Giorgio di Nogaro in September 2020 with subsequent transfer to Genoa. The ship has just completed a phase of activities in dry-dock that will see it return in a few months for the completion of works.
Later this year she will join her sister ship MESSINA and the rest of RFI’s fleet deployed in the Strait of Messina.
