Apr 21
Love0

MOBY FANTASY delivered

By 2023 Newsletter week 16

Guangzhou Shipyard has delivered the first of two Moby’s new generation ferries, MOBY FANTASY.

MOBY FANTASY will depart China in the coming days and cross two oceans to then reach the Mediterranean where she will enter service on the Livorno-Olbia route this summer.

With its 237m length, 32m width and a gross tonnage of 69,500 MOBY FANTASY is the largest passenger ferry built so far worldwide, says Moby. It has a capacity of 3,000 passengers and 3,850 lane meters of roro deck.

The new flagship of the Moby fleet will arrive at the port of Livorno by mid-May.

She is the first ferry in the world to obtain EEDI Phase 3 certification with emissions savings of over 50% compared to traditional ferries used on similar lines.

A second ferry, MOBY LEGACY will follow later.

Apr 21
Love0

Two charters signed for fast ferries on the Italian cabotage

By 2023 Newsletter week 16

Genoa-based broker firm Ferrando & Massone made public two charter contracts.

  1. Monohull HSC ISOLA DI VULCANO (520 pax, 57 cars, 30 knots) has been chartered out from Caronte & Tourist Isole Minori to Navigazione Libera del Golfo. The latter confirmed the deal, explaining that she will be used on the regular links between Termoli and the Tremiti Islands in the Adriatic Sea.
  2. The Maurizio-Aponte-headed Navigazione Libera del Golfo also chartered out the monohull HSC SALERNO JET (445 pax, 30 knots). Blue Jet will use the vessel on the Strait of Messina.
Apr 21
Love0

New ro-ro link likely to be soon put in place between Damietta and Trieste

By 2023 Newsletter week 16

Italy and Egypt “are working” on “launching a new line” of “ro-ro ferries between the ports of Damietta and Trieste.”

The announcement came from Italy’s Ambassador in Egypt, Michele Quaroni, speaking at the presentation of a report on the Suez Canal produced by the SRM Study Centre with Alexbank.

This new line between Egypt and the North Adriatic port, if and when it becomes operational, will make possible to connect “European markets” with Egypt and “other regions” in North Africa, the Ambassador added.

Which shipping company, which port terminals? That was not revealed publicly. However, market rumours report that Samer Seaports & Terminals and DFDS are actively working on that subject

Apr 21
Love0

Baleària and AmendTec collaborate to improve fleet visibility

By 2023 Newsletter week 16

Baleària and AmendTec’s innovative collaboration is revolutionizing the maritime industry by providing real-time position and AIS data visualization for their own fleet and nearby ships. With this cutting-edge technology, Baleària has gained a strong position in safety management and decision-making from the coast.

Baleària has taken safety and decision-making to new heights with their innovative ‘control tower’. This tower visualizes real-time data collected from the AmendTrack’s and other sensors of their vessels, including vessel positions, fuel consumption, emissions, and calculated ETA’s. With this data analysed and readily available, Baleària can make informed decisions and manage safety more effectively than ever before.

Apr 21
Love0

Molslinjen interested in Gotlandstrafiken: “We already have the vessels”

By 2023 Newsletter week 16

Molslinjen will “probably” tender for the Gotland traffic, said CEO Kristian Durhuus  in a radio interview with P4 Gotland [listen to the interview in Swedish]

The Swedish Transport Administration’s procurement documents will be ready in a couple of weeks, and then the shipping company will have to decide.

Danish and Norwegian ferry transportation companies Molslinjen and Torghatten were acquired by EQT Infrastructure in February and March 2021 respectively. ForSea Ferries was acquired later.

Together, they form Nordic Ferry Infrastructure, a pan-Nordic ferry operator with a well-diversified portfolio of over 65 routes operated by over 100 vessels and transporting over 16 million passengers annually.

Apr 21
Love0

Geopolitical and macroeconomic context weighs heavy on quarterly Port of Antwerp-Bruges figures – Status quo for roro

By 2023 Newsletter week 16
  • The total throughput of Port of Antwerp-Bruges amounted to 68.7 million metric tonnes in the first quarter, a drop of 4.5% compared with the same period last year.
  • This decline is due to the still complex geopolitical and macroeconomic context, which has led to a decline in the container segment and significant shifts in cargo flows.
  • Roro traffic is maintaining the status quo, but within the new-car segment there is a resurgence. The first quarter of 2023, saw 904,901 new cars shipped in and out, up 7.2% from 2022. Throughput of all transport equipment has grown by 4.3%, while unaccompanied cargo (excluding containers) is showing a decrease (-2.4%.) The share of these volumes related to the United Kingdom fell by 5.6% in the first quarter, while traffic to and from Ireland increased by 14.2%.
Apr 21
Love0

Spring reception by Scandlines in Berlin: Consumers are attaching more and more importance to climate-friendly travel

By 2023 Newsletter week 16

On April 19, 2023, Scandlines held a reception in the German capital. CEO Carsten Nørland and other company representatives welcomed around 60 guests from politics, business and the public in the Käfer roof garden restaurant in the Bundestag.

The central topic of the evening was the “Green Agenda” of the German-Danish company. Scandlines has been investing heavily in environmentally friendly technologies for more than a decade, most recently in rotor sails on the Rostock-Gedser route and center propellers weighing tons to optimize fuel consumption. With the construction of the first zero-emission ferry for the Scandlines fleet and the planned electrification of the Puttgarden-Rødby route, the shipping company is now setting the next milestones on the way to the future.

Guest speaker Dieter Janecek, Federal Government Coordinator for Maritime Business and Tourism, emphasized in particular the changed demands of travelers for whom climate and species protection are becoming increasingly important.

CEO Carsten Nørland also responded to the wishes of Scandlines passengers and noted an increase in travel traffic going north: “In 2022, more and more passengers from Germany decided to travel north for shorter and longer stays. I hope that in the future we can convince even more people that you don’t have to fly halfway around the world to have a great short break or a great summer holiday.”

Photo: Jochen Zick/Scandlines

Apr 14
Love0

Tallink Grupp signs two long-term charter agreements

By 2023 Newsletter week 15

Vessel: STAR

Chartered to: Irish Continental Group / Irish Ferries

As OSCAR WILDE she will enter service on the Rosslare / Pembroke route in early June 2023, replacing the chartered BLUE STAR 1.

The charter agreement has been signed for 20 months with the possibility to extend the charter by 2+2 years and purchase option.

Vessel: ISABELLE

Chartered to Bridgemans Floatel LP/Bridgemans Services Group LP

The ferry is currently housing Ukrainian refugees in Tallinn since April 2022 as part of a charter agreement with the Estonian government. She will be chartered to Bridgemans from 1 July 2023 as accommodation vessel in Canada.

Overview of Tallink vessels chartered out

“Chartering of Tallink vessels has been and will continue to be an important part of business model,” said CEO Paavo Nõgen.

  • continuing economic uncertainties
  • low consumer confidence
  • significant pressure of increasing costs, such as the pay increases resulting from the recently signed new collective agreement
  • the slower than expected recovery of the passenger numbers
  • reduced demand
Apr 14
Love0

DFDS March volumes: freight in line with expectations

By 2023 Newsletter week 15

Ferry – freight

  • Total volumes in March 2023 were 12.0% below 2022.
  • Volumes were 6.1% below 2022 adjusted for closure of the Izmir-Tarragona route and Channel that is impacted by a market decrease and overcapacity.
  • North Sea volumes were below last year due to mainly fewer volumes between the Netherlands and the UK following an expectedly temporary drop in Continental vegetable and fruit volumes caused by high energy prices.
  • Mediterranean volumes were above last year adjusted for the closure of the Izmir-Tarragona route.
  • Channel volumes were below last year due to a continued market decrease, suspension of sailings by P&O Ferries in March 2022, and a negative impact from the entry of a third ferry operator, Irish Ferries.
  • Baltic Sea volumes remained negatively impacted by the war in Ukraine.
  • For the last twelve months 2023-22, the total transported freight lane metres decreased 6.0% to 40.8m from 43.4m in 2022-21. The decrease was 2.5% adjusted for the closed Izmir-Tarragona route and Channel.

Ferry – passenger

  • The number of passengers continued to recover and increased 76.2% to 235k equal to 85% of volumes in March 2019, the latest comparable month pre-Covid-19.
  • The number of cars equalled 76% of volumes in 2019.
  • For the last twelve months 2023-22, the total number of passengers was 4.1m compared to 1.1m in 2022-21 and 5.1m in 2019.