With the resumption of traffic on STAVANGERFJORD and BERGENSFJORD in May and June respectively, Fjord Line will offer a permanent route between Bergen, Stavanger, Hirtshals, and Kristiansand. The ships will no longer call at Langesund.
“This strategic move aims to provide a better experience for both travellers and freight customers on the quickest route between Norway and the continent. The new service will offer a higher frequency and a year-round connection between Kristiansand and Hirtshals,” says CEO Brian Thorsted Hansen.
Customers can choose to travel on the sister ships or the high-speed catamaran Fjord FSTR. Fjord Line has been operating traffic to and from Langesund since 2014.
The extended marshalling area at Rønne Harbor will not be ready until Easter 2024, according to Bornholm’s Regional Municipality. This has consequences for the summer’s capacity on the new fast ferry Express 5 on the departures from Rønne, says ferry operator Bornholmlinjen.
Departing from Ystad, there are no issues due to the completed port expansion.
The French Manche Department will not manage maritime links (via a public service contract) to the Channel Islands if the passport requirement is not lifted. An ID card should be enough.
Nearly half of the customers arriving in the terminal of Manche Îles Express did not have a passport, compulsory since October 1, 2021. Result: less passengers, and a loss of revenue for the ferry company.
The Manche Department has issued an ultimatum to lift the passport requirement by May 1, 2023, or they will not renew the service contract for 2024-2025.
The Stef Group has confirmed to Le Figaro that it has started preliminary discussions with the CMA-CGM Group regarding the potential acquisition of its maritime activities, which are centered around the company La Méridionale, with 600 employees.
Stef specified that these discussions are in an early stage and that the proper procedure, including informing and consulting the social and economic council of La Méridionale, which will be meeting next week, must be followed.
The acquisition of these ferries, which dock at the foot of the CMA-CGM tower in Marseille, would mark the shipping company’s return to the passenger maritime transport market after selling luxury cruise line Ponant in 2015.
La Méridionale operates connections between Marseille and Corsican ports for both passengers and freight. It recently obtained a renewal of its public service delegation with Corsica Linea for these connections until 2029.
La Méridionale has decided to continue operating the ro-ro line between Marseille and Morocco, however, no longer calling at Barcelona.
Earlier there was a fear that the route would be stopped completely.
Didier Le Gac, the Deputy for the 3rd district of Finistère, is spearheading a bill aimed at combating social dumping in cross-Channel shipping. The bill, which was introduced on Thursday, January 26, 2023, requires all shipping companies to adhere to a minimum wage standard.
Since the sudden termination of nearly 800 English sailors by P&O Ferries in March 2022, and their replacement with lower-paid crewmembers, ship owners and professional representatives have united to form a united front in this effort.
The efforts resulted in a bill that mandates all cross-Channel passenger shipping companies, regardless of flag, to adhere to a minimum wage based on the minimum hourly rate established for the same sector in France.
Scotland. CMAL held a public webinar on 2 February to share a further update on the SVRP feasibility studies. The Small Vessel Replacement Programme aims to achieve a very substantial renewal of the small vessel fleet during the next 10 years.
The meeting slides are available here
Interview with CalMac CEO Robbie Drummond in Herald Scotland
https://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/23298875.calmac-boss-details-truth-behind-ferry-fiasco/
A recording of the online meeting is available to view on YouTube
MOBY ORLI is now advertised on the Moby website for the Genoa – Corsica night run, and Corsica – Genoa day run.
From May 2020 to June 2022 the ferry was used as an accommodation vessel near Murmansk in northern Russia. In June 2022 she arrived in the Mediterranean and went straight to Palumbo Shipyard in Messina.
She is the 1988-built OLYMPIA, a sister vessel to Corsica Ferries’ MEGA REGINA (ex MARIELLA. After her career with Viking Line, she had been acquired by Irish Ferries and chartered to P&O Ferries as PRIDE OF BILBAO.
in December 2010 Irish Ferries sold the vessel to St. Peter Line who bought her for a new service between St Petersburg and Stockholm from May 2011.
In 2017 she got a new owner: Moby.
Elvir Dzanic, current CEO of Göteborgs Hamn AB, will be the new CEO of WALLENIUS SOL when Ragnar Johansson hands over the baton in the summer of 2023. Ragnar Johansson will step down from his post as CEO of WALLENIUS SOL to focus instead on developing the company’s business.
