On Tuesday 19 March 2024, the decree implementing the law against cross-Channel social dumping was signed by the French Secretary of State for the Sea, Hervé Berville. All companies operating between Great Britain and France must now comply with French labour law. Operators affected by the move point out that this goes against international norms which they fully comply with.
Source (in French): decree
The latest addition to the Blue Star Ferries fleet, the RoRo Blue Carrier 2 (formerly known as Clementine), joined Hellenic Coastal Shipping on March 22. The vessel embarked on her maiden voyage on the Piraeus-Samos (Vathi)-Kos-Rodos line, becoming the second RoRo vessel in the Blue Star Ferries fleet.
Purchased in July 2023, she remained chartered until the end of December 2023. Built in Japan (Kawasaki) in 1998, she boasts a carrying capacity for 170 unaccompanied trucks and 458 private cars (2,307 lane meters), with a cruising speed of 17 knots.
Photo: Attica Group
According to the recent report of the Institute of SETE-INSETE (non-profit organization) the passenger shipping traffic in Greece for 2023 formed as follows:
| Quarters | Passengers | % Percentage | |
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023-2022 | |
| Α | 167.675 | 131.968 | 27,1% |
| Β | 312.452 | 253.841 | 23,1% |
| C | 659.153 | 621.836 | 6,0% |
| D | 211.381 | 202.266 | 4,5% |
| Total | 1.350.661 | 1.209.911 | 11,6% |
Source: SEEN
| Quarters | Passengers | % Percentage | |
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023-2022 | |
| Α | 1.672.061 | 1.348.530 | 24% |
| Β | 4.647.594 | 4.503.072 | 3,2% |
| C | 9.811.597 | 9.344.378 | 5,0% |
| D | 2.562.663 | 2.329.694 | 10,0% |
| Total | 18.693.915 | 17.525.674 | 6,7% |
Source: SEEN
IMT – Intermodal Marine Terminal, company part of Ignazio Messina & C. managing a multipurpose terminal in the port of Genoa, announced to have been selected “to oversee the management of Renault/Dacia flows for the next three years, building upon our strong relationship established since the second half of 2023”.
In a posted message the terminal added: “Following the awarding of the Global Tender launched by Renault Group, Neptune Lines has entrusted us with this significant responsibility. We’re honoured by the trust they’ve placed in us! In addition, we’re delighted to confirm that Genoa port will now be included in Neptune Lines’ regular schedule, facilitating the discharge of approximately 20,000 cars per year.”
The new vehicles are produced in Morocco and shipped to Italy from the port of Tanger Med.
The 1999-built Igoumenitsa has just been transferred from Grimaldi Euromed to Trasmed GLE’s fleet and renamed Ciudad de Sóller.
“Due to legal issues related to the administrative deadlines of the Italian legislation, the Ciudad de Sóller will carry the Italian flag and crew during the first two months of service, until the end of May approximately, when it will fly the Spanish flag and will be positioned on the Palma – Barcelona route” the Spanish ferry company stated.
This vessel (440 passengers and 3,000 lane metres capacity) will replace the Ciudad de Alcudia recently dismissed by Grimaldi Group.
HSC CRISTINA M, sister ship of the VITTORIO MORACE, has been launched at the Astilleros Armon shipyard in Navia, Spain, for Liberty Lines.
With a length of 39.5 meters and a capacity of 251 passengers, is the second HSC hybrid fast unit under construction.
It is equipped with two MTU-Rolls Royce hybrid engines, allowing it to operate entirely in electric mode within ports before recharging the batteries while sailing at 30 knots in open sea.
It is the second of the 12 innovative fast hybrid ships that will join the fleet by 2026 and 2027.
The delivery of the newly built VITTORIO MORACE and CRISTINA M is expected to take shape in May this year.
“Condor Ferries is promising passengers and companies a better deal as it announces ‘a new era’ in its 60th anniversary year serving the islands,” writes Guernsey Press.
Brittany Ferries has pledged to become more actively involved in Condor’s day-to-day operations. Christophe Mathieu, interim CEO of Condor and CEO of Brittany Ferries, emphasized this shift in approach, stating that they are committed to strengthening the long-term sea links between the island and the UK and France. Mathieu expressed openness to increasing Brittany Ferries’ shareholding in Condor if the majority owner, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, decides to sell. This signals a new era of partnership aimed at lasting indefinitely.
Barfleur (photo) did some berthing trials in Jersey on 26th of March.
Plans to build the Isles of Scilly’s two new ferries in Asia have been described as “an absolute scandal”.
The Isles of Scilly Steamship Group awarded the £42m contract to Piriou, a French shipbuilder, which said it would build the ferries in Vietnam.
The workers’ trade union, GMB Union, said that shipbuilders in the UK have been “hugely let down” by the ISSG’s decision.
Harland and Wolff, which owns Appledore shipyard in Devon, was shortlisted but not chosen.
Source: BBC
On March 23, 2024, in Brest, Brittany Ferries marked a significant event with the blessing and christening of the RoPax ferry Santoña. The ceremony was conducted by Christian Bernard, the Episcopal Vicar for the Diocese of Quimper et Léon. Following the blessing, the age-old tradition of christening was observed, with the ferry’s godmother, Mrs. Marie-Hélène Roué, breaking a bottle of Champagne over the vessel’s bow.
Photo: Jess Breheret
Baleària will invest 3.2 million euros in the RoPax Passió per Formentera in order to guarantee greater comfort, reliability and sustainability in the connections made by the company on the public interest line between Ceuta and Algeciras. These works, both propulsion and interior fittings, will be carried out during the ship’s docking at the Guadalquivir shipyard in Seville starting this coming Sunday, March 31, and until the end of April.
Bahama Mama ship will cover the route during her absence.
Source: Baleària (in Spanish)
Marine Atlantic’s Atlantic Vision is preparing to return to Europe after she left the fleet. Owned by a company related to Tallink Grupp, she has been reflagged to Cyprus. A crew from one of the Stena companies is onboard, but, so far, we don’t know her future.
Photo: Marine Atlantic
Since March 24, 2024, Superfast Ferries’ RoPax Ariadne is on short-term charter to Algerie Ferries for service on the long Alger-Marseille line. The Japanese-built vessel will temporarily assist El Djazair II until the return of the larger BADJI MOKHTAR III, which is currently undergoing refitting at Elefsis Shipyards (Greece) until the end of April.
Photo: Attica Group
In 2023, Color Line reported the best earnings in its history, powered by high demand, stable production, and increasingly more cost-effective operations. This provides a solid point of departure for further commercial development and the green transition in the coming years.
+EBITDA NOK 1.4 billion (NOK 1.2 billion in 2022)
+EBIT NOK 819 million (NOK 598 million in 2022)
3.5 million pax (3.6)
180k freight units (190k)
In 2023, Color Line sailed with a fleet consisting of five ships of four international routes between Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Germany, after selling RoPax Color Viking and RoRo Color Carrier towards the end of 2022.
Outlook and focus:
“In the coming years, the maritime sector will go through both the green shift and the digital transformation. However, Norwegian shipping is experiencing a gradual weakening of its framework conditions, which challenges the industry’s ability to adapt,” says CEO Trond Kleivdal.
Click on image below for report
Financial performance:
Transition in fuel:
Long-term goal of climate-neutral travel by 2045 remains despite challenges.
Gotlandstrafiken’s role:
Focus on development and expansion:
Read the annual report (in Swedish) here.
Remark
EQT-owned Molslinjen demands that the tender for the ferry service to Gotland be redone. In a letter to the Minister of Infrastructure and to the Swedish Transport Administration, it is claimed that the tender requirements are bad for the environment and cost the state SEK 5 billion in unnecessary expenses.
Source: Dagens industri (in Swedish, and paywalled)
The Ancona-based ferry company Adria Ferries is considering launching a new maritime link between Italy and Montenegro.
News agency ANSA reported that, during a meeting between Alberto Rossi (owner of Adria Ferries) and Milojko Spajic (Montenegro’s prime minister) held in Podgorica, the possibility of opening a new RoPax link between the ports of Bar and Ancona emerged.
However, Alberto Rossi told FERRY SHIPPING NEWS that “a preliminary study is underway for a regular link between Bari and Bar since the same route had been operated in the past through the company Adriatica di Navigazione”. Rossi also underlined that “the possibility to open up a new service depends also on the availability of our ships which are currently all employed”.
Adria Ferries controls a fleet of three ro-pax ships: two deployed on the Italy – Albania routes and a third chartered out to DFDS.