A new freight service will commence at the turn of the year, linking Gothenburg to the industrialised Western Region in Norway via the ports in Stavanger, Bergen, Sunndal and Ålesund. The service will also include the Polish port of Swinoujscie, which will in turn open up further trade options with central Europe. Vessels will visit Gothenburg on a weekly basis.
The new service will be operated by the Norwegian shipping company Sea-Cargo.
As from 2 January 2021, DFDS join existing shipping operators Stena Line, Irish Ferries and Brittany Ferries at Rosslare Europort, with a new six-times weekly service direct to Dunkirk (see the extra news of last week 48)
Rosslare Europort has recently secured planning permission for a major transformation of Rosslare Europort, as part of its €30m Port Masterplan.
Further substantial investment will also take place both at the port and the surrounding area.
NYK and its partners have agreed to transfer all shares of the exclusive vessel holding company for the LNG bunkering vessel ENGIE ZEEBRUGGE to NYK and make the holding company a wholly owned subsidiary of NYK.
NYK has changed the name of the LNG bunkering vessel into GREEN ZEEBRUGGE.
In response to the expected increase in global demand for LNG fuel, NYK will start LNG-fuel bunkering business under a new scheme in the future.
The bunkering vessel performed in the port of Zeebrugge its first deliveries of LNG in 2017, as a marine fuel to UECC’s roro vessels AUTO ECO and AUTO ENERGY.
From now on, cars from Volvo Cars in Ghent will get to their final destinations faster and more sustainably. At a new train terminal near Mercatordok in North Sea Port, cars are loaded onto and off ships and onto and off trains.
This collaboration between the Volvo Cars plant, DFDS and the Belgian rail freight operator Lineas efficiently brings together the different modes of transport (ship, train, truck). Thanks to the extensive use of rail transport, the throughput time from factory to final destination is now up to 30% faster.
Wärtsilä Engines for Two New ‘Superstar’ Vessels
Wärtsilä has won the contract to supply the engines and a range of its electric solutions for two new Finnlines ferries under construction at the China Merchants Jinling Shipyard.
Presidential Boost
“Reservations resumed at the very moment when President Macron indicated that travelers could move again”
Pierre Mattei, CEO Corsica Ferries
Emmanuel Macron’s speech announcing that it would be possible to spend the holidays with the family has increased the reservations of Corsican ferry and airline operators.
Christian Clemens is the new Chairman of ForSea. He has replaced Rasmus Christiansen. Since January 2020 Christian has been CEO at Stockholmsmässan, and prior to that has held the position of CEO in a number of other companies including BRA, Braathens Regional Airlines, TUI in the Nordic Region, TUI in Germany and within the Ving Group.
Stena Line has officially taken ownership of its newest ferry, STENA EMBLA.
It is last of three new vessels due for the Irish Sea, which marks the end of a 7-year development programme totalling a £400m investment in new ferries and port infrastructure in the region.
STENA EMBLA is due to start sailing between Britain and Ireland in the New Year.
Gotlandsbolaget’s ropax VISBY will be chartered out from approximately 20 December until May 2021 (+option for longer, if route is successful)
The charterer has requested the operating details to be confidential.
Ship has 115 cabins and 1,500 lane metres for freight.
The Europaweg (road) in North Sea Port Vlissingen has been given a new layer of asphalt. Bottom layer, sandwich layer and top layer are made of Bioway, an environmentally friendly asphalt.
More on https://www.yourbioway.com/ (in Dutch)
The new Isle of Man Steam Packet Company vessel will be named MANXMAN. More than 7,500 people took the opportunity to suggest their favourite of the shortlisted names. More than 65 years have passed since the launch of the last ship called MANXMAN.
The New ‘Calais Port 2015’ is Almost Ready
Société des Ports du Détroit (SPD) completed financing the ‘Calais Port 2015’ project in July 2015 with following investors:
In January 2021, the Société des Ports du Détroit will provide ‘Boulogne-sur-Mer Calais Port’ a new infrastructure:
Watch the project video (with French voice)
Stena Group Reports First Nine Months
Ferry Operations (SEK in millions)
Q3, 2020
Nine months, 2020
Download the report by clicking on the cover picture
From 2 January 2021, a new freight ferry route between Rosslare and Dunkirk will offer trucks and their drivers direct and paperless transport between EU countries.
After having successfully started a brand-new service between Zeebrugge (BE) and Cork (IE) in May this year, CLdN is poised to introduce a second weekly call in the coming days, to cope with the increasing demand on this route.
In light of the end of the transition period of Brexit approaching, combined with the modal shift from accompanied to unaccompanied shipping and having a direct link between the continent and Ireland bypassing the Landbridge, resulted in a booming demand for the Cork service.
DFDS and its partners (*) have applied for EU support for development of a ferry powered by electricity from a hydrogen fuel cell system which only emits water. Green hydrogen is to be produced by a projected offshore wind energy-powered electrolyser plant in Greater Copenhagen.
EUROPA SEAWAYS (project name)
Design: Knud E. Hansen (with link to their website’s dedicated page)
(*) DFDS, ABB, Ballard Power Systems Europe, Hexagon Purus, Lloyd’s Register, Knud E. Hansen, Ørsted and Danish Ship Finance.
Ystad’s New Port Will Soon be Ready for Use
The Port of Ystad in the south of Sweden has been expanded with new ferry berths to be able to receive more traffic and larger ships. On Wednesday, November 25, the first tests were conducted in the new port to secure that the new ferry berths work as planned. From the turn of the year, the new ferry berths will be used regularly.
“We are very happy to finalize this comprehensive project. The Port of Ystad now has good conditions to continue to grow on both the passenger and freight side. We look forward to welcoming current and future shipping companies in our new port”, says Björn Boström, CEO of Port of Ystad.
GNV is the opening to sales of the new summer connection for Sardinia between Civitavecchia and Olbia, with 5 departures a week from each port starting from June 2021.
The Civitavecchia-Olbia route meets the demand of customers who are asking for more and more connections to and from Sardinia , which GNV connects with the historic Genoa-Porto Torres and Genoa-Olbia lines.
Today (Friday 27 November), GALICIA was officially inaugurated through a life online event. More in next Ferry Shipping News.
Webinar 3 (19 November): Will we have the right ferries?
Results of the 5-question poll:
Are more subsidies needed to develop “green” fuels and ferries?
Do we think the pandemic will slow down the ferry fleet renewal programme?
Is there any future for cruise-ferries?
These two answers did not generate a clear answer, with more than 40% answering ‘no opinion’:
