Stena Line and Port of Gothenburg signed an agreement for the relocation of Stena Line’s Denmark- and Germany ferry operations to an all-new terminal in Arendal, Gothenburg. The new location will meet the needs of sustainable transport solutions for both Stena Line and Port of Gothenburg.
Read more here.
Energy company Repsol has inaugurated its second LNG supply terminal. The inauguration took place in Santander Spain on 7th June and was attended by Repsol’s Executive Managing Director of Circular Economy and Industrial Transformation, Juan Abascal and Brittany Ferries’ CEO Christophe Mathieu.
The terminal comprises a cryogenic tank with a storage capacity of 1,000m3. It follows the opening of an LNG bunker facility in Bilbao last year. The two facilities are part of a collaboration agreement that Repsol signed with Brittany Ferries in 2019 for the supply of LNG for ships serving Spanish routes.
The new terminal is co-financed by the European Commission through the CEF-Connecting Europe Facilities Program.
By the end of the first year of operations, it is estimated its emissions of CO2 will have been cut by around 12,000 tons.
Danish ship designers OSK Group, consisting of three sister companies with each their area of maritime expertise: OSK-ShipTech, OSK-Offshore and Steen Friis Design, will unify behind one brand going forward – OSK Design.
Both Fjordline ferries STAVANGERFJORD and BERGENSFJORD returned to service between Bergen, Stavanger, Hirtshals and Kristiansand, after a serious upgrade at Fosen Yards.
The single-fuel Rolls Royce LNG engines were exchanged with Wärtsilä dual-fuel LNG/MGO engines – four on each vessel.
The impressive MOBY FANTASY recently delivered by China’s Guangzhou Shipyard successfully concluded its maiden voyage from the Far East to Europe.
Moby’s new flagship, under the command of Genoese captain Massimo Pinsolo, crossed two oceans and the Suez Canal before arriving in the Tyrrhenian Sea at the port of Livorno.
The huge Ro-Pax will be officially presented in Olbia on June 17, and start operating from late June on the Livorno – Olbia route.
With its 37m length, 32m width and a gross tonnage of 69,500 tons, MOBY FANTASY is the one of largest passenger ferries in the world. She has a capacity of 3,000 passengers and 3,850 lane metres.
The high sustainability standards also make it one of the most advanced and technologically sophisticated ferries with respect to environmental protection and emission reduction.
Freight down:
OUTLOOK: if this weaker pattern continues, estimates for year-end suggest 15% worse freight performance than originally projected.
Passenger up:
OUTLOOK: for year-end the company is forecasting an 18% boost in total passenger numbers compared with 2022.
In total 1.95 million passengers are forecast to have travelled with Brittany Ferries by the end of the year. This would be a positive result, but still around 100,000 fewer travellers than expected.
Source and details per route in this press release.
In May 2023 AS Tallink Grupp transported 469,878 passengers, which is a 3.3% decrease compared to May 2022.
The number of cargo units decreased by 23.1% to 29,678 units and the number of passenger vehicles by 0.1% to 72,969 units year-on-year.
FINLAND – SWEDEN
The May Finland-Sweden results reflect the operations of the Helsinki-Stockholm and the Turku-Kapellskär/Turku-Stockholm routes. The cruise ferry GALAXY I stopped operating on the Turku-Stockholm route in September 2022 due to a charter contract.
ESTONIA – FINLAND
The May Estonia-Finland results reflect operations of shuttle services of MYSTAR and MEGASTAR.
The shuttle ferry STAR, which operated on the Tallinn-Helsinki route until 1 May 2023, is on long-term charter since 5 May 2023 providing transport services between Ireland, the United Kingdom and France under the OSCAR WILDE name.
The cruise ferry SILJA EUROPA stopped operating on the Tallinn-Helsinki route in August 2022 due to a charter contract.
ESTONIA – SWEDEN
The May Estonia-Sweden results reflect the operations of the Tallinn-Stockholm and the Paldiski-Kapellskär route.
OTHER EVENTS
In May 2023, the charter agreement was signed based on which the cruise ferry SILJA EUROPA will continue providing services in Netherlands until December 2023.
Four years after the last attempt, the Italian ferry company Caronte & Tourist is trying to enter the local Croatian cabotage market again.
Local media report that the newcomer has been already authorized to operate a line between the ports of Zadar and Preko by the Short Sea Maritime Agency.
The vessel to be deployed on the line should be the 1978-built and double ended ferry ULISSE.
But Caronte & Tourist will have to face the opposition expressed by the Municipality of Preko.
A-Ships Management ferry PRINCE (ex-DUBROVNIK) will soon be introduced on the classic Brindisi – Valona line.
The Irish-built vessel was purchased on April 14, 2023, from the Croatian state ferry company Jadrolinija. She underwent repairs and dry docking and she is expected to leave Greece in mid-June.
She is the third vessel in the A-Ships Management fleet. GALAXY (1979) and GOLDEN BRIDGE (1990) are currently chartered to Siremar and GNV.
Photo: Kostas Papadopoulos
Creta Cargo Lines’ new acquisition Ro-Ro AGIOS GEORGIOS (ex OLYMPUS) is currently having her dry docking at Spanopoulos Group facilities. The Japanese-built vessel was purchased in mid-February 2023.
Creta Cargo lines decided to operate her as a Ro-Ro vessel.
RoRo Agios Georgios is the fifth vessel on the Cretan company’s fleet and she is expected to enhance her company’s presence in the Greek Ro-Ro market.
Photo: Kostas Papadopoulos
