Jan 19
1

Almost two million pax for Bornholmslinjen

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2023 was a record year for Bornholmslinjen, with the highest number of passengers and cars ever traveling to and from Bornholm. [Danish press release]

  • Passengers: a total of 1,993,966 pax were recorded, nearly 46,000 more than the previous record year in 2022.
  • Cars: 583,943, more than 10,000 more cars than in the previous record year in 2022.
  • Trucks: 45,345, slightly fewer than the previous year due to the impact of the global economy on freight volumes to Bornholm.

Jesper Skovgaard, Molslinjen’s Commercial Director, anticipates that they will soon reach the magical two million ferry passengers to Bornholm, especially when the high-speed ferry, EXPRESS 5, is fully utilized (in 2023 the ferry was only in service in the second half of the year)

2024 will be the year when ferry capacity to Bornholm can be fully utilized. The marshalling areas in Rønne will be expanded, as they have already been in Ystad.

Photo: Bornhomslinjen

Photo: Bornhomslinjen
Jan 19
1

Seajets charter Minoan Lines’ HSC SANTORINI PALACE

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On January 12, 2024, and according to reliable information, Seajets proceeded with the chartering of Minoan Lines’ HSC SANTORINI PALACE. The ship is in service during the summer period on the Heraklion – Santorini – Naxos – Mykonos – Syros – Piraeus route, while the information suggests a bareboat chartering arrangement.

HSC SANTORINI PALACE was built in Australia (Austal) in 2005. In 2015, it underwent extensive upgrades at Trieste (Fincantieri Shipyards) to increase its passenger capacity. It can accommodate up to 1,160 passengers and 117 cars.

Photo: Mike Louagie

Photo: Mike Louagie
Jan 19
1

Double-ender ferry HARDINGEN sold to Kerkyra Seaways

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Kerkyra Seaways is also the buyer of the Norwegian double-ended ferry HARDINGEN from Boreal Sjø.
The ship has been laid up at the port of Sandnes since April 2023 and was sold along with her sister-ship MØYSALEN to the ferry operator in Corfu, who plans to replace her previous vessel HERMES – which was recently sold to the Croatian Jadrolinija – with two new vessels.

HARDINGEN is expected to be delivered in January 2024.

Both ships will undergo conversion at the Perama repair zone and are expected to enter service on the Igoumenitsa-Corfu route in the summer of 2024.

HARDINGEN has been renamed HARTINGE and now flies the flag of St. Vincent, while MØYSALEN will be renamed HERMES after her predecessor.

She was originally built in Norway in 1993 (Slipen Mekaniske Verksted AS) and has a capacity for 399 passengers and 104 cars or 10 trucks.

Photo: Kostas Papadopoulosn| MØYSALEN is already in Greece since December 27, 2023
MØYSALEN is already in Greece since December 27, 2023
Jan 19
1

Orkney Ferries on a new journey with Hogia Ferry Systems

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Orkney Ferries, a Scottish inter-island ferry operator, has entered into an agreement with Hogia Ferry Systems to replace their reservation and ticketing system with the BOOKIT system in Spring 2024. The decision was prompted by new regulations and rising customer expectations. The transition to BOOKIT is expected to benefit customers by enabling online booking changes and refunds. Orkney Ferries also anticipates improvements in deck space management.

Photo: Shapinsay

Jan 19
1

Saronic Ferries purchased Seikan Ferries’ HAYABUSA N°3

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On January 16, 2024, it was revealed that the Greek Joint-Service Saronic Ferries (Lefakis-Papaioannides) appears to be the buyer of the Japanese Seikan Ferries’ (Kyoei Unyu) RoRo vessel, Hayabusa No. 3.

The ship will cease operations on the traditional Aomori – Hakodate line after 23 years of service and will be replaced by the larger Hayabusa III on January 24, 2024.

She was originally constructed in Japan in 2000 at the Hakodate dock, with a carrying capacity of 105 passengers and 26 trucks (12m). Her service speed is 18.7 knots

Photo: Marinetraffic T.K.S.

Jan 19
1

HSC FJORDLYN sold and bound for Middle-East for a new life

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The Italian shipbroker Ferrando & Massone announced to have intermediated the sale of the high-speed craft FJORDLYN built in 2009 by Oma Baatbyggeri AS shipyard in Norway.
The high-speed craft, sold by Danish interests, can transport some 150 passengers sailing a speed up to 30 knots.
“As from January, this HSC will find a new life in the Middle East where will be refitted and re-classified before entering into service for the new owner” Ferrando & Massone said.

Photo: Norled

Jan 18
1

Green light from Italy’s Antitrust authority to TDT Terminal takeover by Grimaldi

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The Grimaldi Group has received approval from Italy’s antitrust authority to acquire a 100% stake in Terminal Darsena Toscana from Gruppo Investimenti Portuali, a company controlled by the investment funds Infravia and Infracapital. The port authority of Livorno has also announced its intention to authorize the operation involving its primary ro-pax and container terminal.

Terminal Darsena Toscana is a RoPax and container terminal located in the port of Leghorn, covering an area of 389,000 square meters. It boasts an annual throughput capacity of 900,000 TEU, a quay length of 1,430 meters, and direct road and rail connections. Additionally, Sintermar Darsena Toscana, a 50-50 joint venture between Grimaldi and Gruppo Investimenti Portuali, falls under the same concession and is actively involved in the ro-pax handling business.

Emanuele Grimaldi, Chairman of the Grimaldi Group, has already clarified to Ferry Shipping News that Terminal Darsena Toscana will continue its operations as usual, maintaining its container and RoRo/RoPax handling activities.

There are market rumors suggesting that the Naples-based shipping group is also in negotiations to acquire another container terminal called Sech, which is controlled by Psa, at the port of Genoa.

Photo: Grimaldi Group

Jan 12
1

Stena RoRo orders a 13th E-Flexer for Corsica Linea

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Stena RoRo has placed an order for yet another Ro-Pax-class E-Flexer vessel from the Chinese shipyard CMI Jinling (Weihai). [announcement]

The vessel will be delivered in the first quarter of 2026 to Corsica Linea and will operate between Marseille and Corsica.

The vessels’ engines are of the multi-fuel type and can run on LNG, conventional marine fuel (MGO) or biodiesel. The vessels have been designed in line with future environmental requirements and, through their technical design, can meet both existing and future international requirements by a wide margin. The vessels will be designed with the classification society notation “Battery power” which means that in the future the vessels will also be able to utilize batteries as a means of propulsion.

This is Stena RoRo’s thirteenth vessel in the E-Flexer series and the first to be delivered to the Mediterranean region.

Jan 12
1

With the acquisition of FRS Iberia/Maroc, DFDS officially enters the Strait of Gibraltar

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DFDS has completed the acquisition of FRS Iberia/Maroc and thus enters the Strait of Gibraltar short-sea ferry market connecting Spain and Morocco. [announcement]

The acquisition expands DFDS’ network to a region where growth is expected to be supported by nearshoring of supply chains closer to Europe.

Expected annual trade growth of 8% between Morocco and Europe for the next five years.

The integration of the passenger business is expected to benefit from sharing of operating and yield management capabilities, not least from the Channel short-sea routes. Optimisation of digital distribution channels is moreover expected to increase the share of online bookings.

The freight activities will be strengthened by becoming part of a pan-European freight ferry network. The integration is also expected to benefit from a customer overlap and cross sales opportunities.

Integration synergies are expected to be driven primarily by growth synergies as limited cost synergies are expected. The integration is expected to be completed within three years.

FRS Iberia/Maroc will become part of the Ferry Division and their top management team consisting of Ronny Moriana Glindemann and Tim Gädecken have joined DFDS and will continue to manage the business.

Jan 12
1

Good passenger numbers for Viking Line in 2023

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A total of 5 million passengers sailed on the Viking Line vessels in 2023.

During the period June-August, there were nearly 1.8 million passengers, and many departures during the summer holiday season were sold out well in advance.

Less passengers than previous year 4,897,494 (4,945,564) because of fewer vessels.

AMORELLA ended its service for Viking Line in October 2022 while ROSELLA made its last voyage for the company in January 2023.

VIKING GRACE and VIKING GLORY had the biggest passenger increase, on the Turku–Åland–Stockholm route, with 2,123,647 (1,955,988) passengers. Viking Line’s market share here was 72 %. Viking Glory, which launched service in 2022, is still a novelty and a very popular vessel.

VIKING GABRIELLA served the Helsinki–Åland–Stockholm route on its own during the year and had 496,844 (515,445) passengers.

VIKING XPRS had 1,655,548 (1,403,048) passengers in its service between Helsinki and Tallinn.

The number of passengers who sailed on special cruises and other routes was 71,116.

The number of cargo units was up 125,269 (117,777), and the number of passenger cars was down 563,081 (630,651). (Remark, with two ships that left the fleet)

Outlook:

“In 2023, Viking XPRS was reflagged under a Finnish flag, and during the autumn we decided to do the same with Viking Cinderella, which will be reassigned to the Helsinki–Stockholm route in spring 2024. The new financial year 2024 will be both exciting and demanding. We are following economic developments very closely and adapting our operations to meet the challenges we face. Last autumn, we formed a joint venture with the shipping company Gotlandsbolaget with the task of developing and providing cruises with M/S Birka Gotland. We see great potential for this joint venture and have a generally optimistic outlook for Baltic Sea travel,” says Jan Hanses, CEO of Viking Line.

Source: Viking Line