Dec 22
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Grimaldi Group strengthens Bari and Brindisi lines

By 2022 Newsletter week 51

On 6-7 December 2022, Mr Guido Grimaldi, Grimaldi Group Corporate Short Sea Shipping Commercial Director & President of ALIS, announced the enhancing of both Bari and Brindisi lines with more vessels.

More specifically, at the port of Bari, he announced the introduction of a fourth Ro-Ro ship, from January 2023, on the Patras-Bari-Venice line and vice versa, which will contribute to the daily service.

The next day, in Brindisi, he announced the new operation on Patras-Igoumenitsa-Brindisi. RoPax EUROPA PALACE will join her fleet mate RoPax IGOUMENITSA, offering more daily departures, from 14 to 22 weekly.

Dec 22
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Passengers will return to Le Havre in 2023

By 2022 Newsletter week 51

Brittany Ferries will re-open its Portsmouth to Le Havre service for passengers

  • When? 1 March 2023
  • What? The route had been run in freight-only mode for the last few years, a consequence of the Covid
  • Ship? COTENTIN (114 pax in well-appointed cabins)

As well as Portsmouth – Le Havre, the ship will carry passengers on Le-Havre to Rosslare. Her schedule includes one round-trip to each destination:

Sunday and Thursday

  • Le Havre – Portsmouth : departure 17h30 – Arrival 22h00
  • Portsmouth – Le Havre : departure 23h30 – Arrival 08h30 Friday
  • Le Havre-Rosslare : departure 19h00 – Arrival 14h30 Saturday
  • Rosslare-Le Havre : departure 17h45 – Arrival 15h00 Sunday
Dec 22
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RoRo MIDAS chartered to TransProCon

By 2022 Newsletter week 51

Godby Shipping’s MIDAS was redelivered from her charter to Stena on 17 December 2022 and has thereafter been chartered to Göteborg-based TransProCon (Swedish Orient Line) until December 2023.

MIDAS will be used in TransProCon service with a combination of liner, project and military cargoes on the Baltic Sea, North Sea and Mediterranean Sea.

Dec 22
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Scottish Government budget: more money for the ferries

By 2022 Newsletter week 51

The Scottish Budget sets out the Scottish Government’s proposed spending and tax plans for 2023 to 2024, as presented to the Scottish Parliament. Full details here.

Extra money has been allocated to complete the two overdue ferries at Ferguson Marine, which have already exceeded their budget.

It includes an additional £15 million in the current financial year and £57 million next year for work on the vessels.

Ferry Services: important increase of budget

Dec 22
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Changes in AS Tallink Grupp’s loan obligations

By 2022 Newsletter week 51

AS Tallink Grupp has amended and restated the EUR 280 million loan agreement from December 2016. The final maturity of the Euribor based floating interest rate loan was extended by 3 years with two further extension possibilities, each by one year. Sustainability-linked clauses were added to the amended and restated loan agreement. Current outstanding balance of the loan is EUR 135,5 million.

The financing is arranged by Nordea Bank ABP, Danske Bank A/S, KfW IPEX Bank GmbH, AS Swedbank, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB and Hamburg Commercial Bank AG. Nordea Banks ABP and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB acted as Coordinators. The Facility- and Security Agent and Sustainability Coordinator is Nordea Banks ABP.

As a result of the amended and restated loan agreement the company’s refinancing risk decreases.

The new loan is guaranteed by the subsidiaries of AS Tallink Grupp: Tallink Sea Line Ltd, Tallink Victory Line Ltd, Tallink Ltd, Tallink Autoexpress Ltd and Tallinn Swedish Line Ltd. The loan is secured by the mortgages on the ships belonging to these subsidiaries.

Dec 22
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Jadrolinija celebrates 75 years

By 2022 Newsletter week 51

Zadar, 5 December 12, a ceremony was held onboard MARKO POLO to celebrate Jadrolinija’s 75th birthday.

The party included employees, partners and numerous guests, including the State Secretary for the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure and the representative of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Josip Bilaver, the representative of the President of the Croatian Parliament Rade Šimičević, Members of Parliament and Zadar County Prefect Božidar Longin.

After the stressful pandemic years, there is a return to the figures from 2019, which was also referred to by the President of the Management Board, David Sopta, in his welcome speech.

“This year marks a return to the figures from the record year 2019, despite the global energy crisis and the drastic increase in energy prices. This means that we will see the end of the year with more than 12 million passengers and more than 3 million vehicles.”

He pointed out that over the past few years, 5 ships have joined the fleet, while the acquisition of new ships is expected next year.

Dec 22
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Naviera Armas soon to be put up for sale?

By 2022 Newsletter week 51

The Spanish ferry company Naviera Armas seems to be the next big deal soon to take place in the Mediterranean basin.

Spanish media report that the company, controlled today by the Armas family and the creditors (i.e. Jp Morgan, Barings, Cheyne Capital and Banco Santander), will have to be put on the market in the near future.

Balearia, Boluda, MSC’s Grandi Navi Veloci and Grimaldi Group are mentioned as potential buyers, but Grimaldi immediately denied its interest to Ferry Shipping News: “We are not going to play that match,” a spokesperson said. No comment from MSC as usual.

The sale process appears very complicated both for technical, financial, and legal reasons.

Dec 22
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Tender launched by ACTV of Venice for two double-ended ferries

By 2022 Newsletter week 51

Azienda del Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano (Actv), the public ferry company controlled by the Municipality of Venice, has just launched a short-term tender (expiring date 16 January 2023) aimed at finding interested shipyards for building two double-ended ferries with diesel-electric dual-fuel propulsion.

Tender price is EUR 32.24 million for both the vessels.

Another similar tender was launched one year ago but failed. Only Holland Shipyards submitted an offer.

Dec 16
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Hansa Destinations will not perform the service between Nynäshamn and Rostock during 2023

By 2022 Newsletter week 50
  • Hansa Destinations (Gotlandsbolaget) has been running the service between Nynäshamn-Visby-Rostock since August 2021. Now, the company informs that they will not be continuing the traffic during 2023.
  • The background to the decision is foremost, the high cost of fuel.
  • The goal has been to offer freight customers, but also passengers, an effective and sustainable solution for transport and travel between the continent and the greater Stockholm area. The move from road to sea represents a major environmental benefit as well as a needed decrease of trucks on roads.
  • “We do not have a sound business case. The low numbers of cargo volumes have also meant that the environmental benefits that have been our goal, have not been achieved”, says Håkan Johansson, CEO at Gotlandsbolaget.
  • The traffic will end after the arrival of ELIANA MARINO will be in Rostock on December 18, 2022, and of DROTTEN in Nynäshamn on January 4 2023. Customers and partners are being contacted.
Dec 16
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CLdN expands services between Santander, Liverpool and Dublin.

By 2022 Newsletter week 50
  • In January 2023 a new twice weekly schedule from Santander to Dublin will double capacity on this service, in line with the growing demand.
  • From this date Spanish cargo for the UK market will be transhipped in Dublin onto the Seatruck Ferries regular shuttle service to Liverpool.
  • To enable these transhipments but also to accommodate growing market demand, Seatruck Ferries are at the same time deploying an extra vessel, SEATRUCK PENNANT, onto their successful Dublin – Liverpool route.
  • “This change will benefit customers using both services with increased capacity, simplified customs procedures and logical through shipment options. Thanks to the very low carbon footprint of the combined unaccompanied RoRo fleet (~37 g/ton_km in 2021), shipping with CLdN and Seatruck Ferries is a much greener solution compared with landbridge or road transport,” says the CLdN press release. “As end customers demand more sustainable shipping solutions the importance of longer sea crossings which reduce road mileage will become ever more important.”