IN THE MEDIA

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Public Aid to Brittany Ferries Reaches EUR 258 million

  • 75% of traffic lost
  • Cherbourg, Saint-Malo, Roscoff and Le Havre have been closed
  • Only 6 of 12 vessels in operation

Regional aid:

  • Somanor (Normandie region, financing the ships chartered to Brittany Ferries) EUR 45m
  • Somabret (Bretagne region, financing the ships chartered to Brittany Ferries) EUR 40m
  • (Somanor+Somabret: five-year extension of the amortization period of the ships and a support for major repairs for five years)

State aid:

  • Credit line EUR 117m with State guarantee of EUR 105.3m
  • EUR 8.3m partial unemployment (until end of August)
  • EUR 15m exemption of social contributions of seafarers (for 2021)
  • Like all French shipping companies BF already enjoys the employer exemption for these social contributions. The State therefore adds a sum of EUR 44.6m for the period 2017-mid 2020.

Putting things in perspective:

  • CMA CGM has secured a EUR 1.05 billion State Guaranteed Loan
  • Air France has a EUR 4 billion loan.

SHORT NEWS

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ANEN LINES SA is officially the buyer of the HSC AEOLOS KENTERIS 1.

The company won the auction sale in November 2019. However, they didn’t manage to pay the full amount of money and the tender for the ship was about to be repeated in October 2020.

ANEN managed to pay the agreed amount just in time and the laid-up vessel was awarded to them.

ANEN has also acquired Nel lines’ THEOFILOS and MYTILENE in similar tenders. Both ships are laid up at Elefsis bay since many years.

STENA FORECASTER replaces MISIDA on P&O’s Liverpool – Dublin as from 2 November

In the last year, the Huelva-Canarias route operated jointly by Baleària and Fred. Olsen Express has presented a positive growth, despite the pandemic .

Both passenger and vehicle transport have increased by 25% compared to 2019 and in the case of cargo, the increase has been 30%.

Two years after the start of the route, both the president of Baleària, Adolfo Utor, and the CEO of Fred. Olsen, SA, Andrés Marín, coincide in pointing out that the degree of satisfaction with respect to the evolution of traffic on the route is very high.

The Canary Bridge Seaways (CBS) consortium has carried 40,000 passengers, 22,200 vehicles and 460,000 linear meters of freight since November 2018, when the route was inaugurated.

Due to the docking of Tallink Grupp’s shuttle vessel STAR for technical works between 29 October and 3 November 2020, Tallink Grupp is making changes to the schedule of the Tallinn-Helsinki route.

BALTIC QUEEN and VICTORIA I will replace STAR and will operate on the Tallinn-Helsinki route.

STAR will return to its normal operating schedule in the afternoon of Wednesday, 4 November.

Color Group AS has exercised an option for another 6 months of general deferment of installments, with liquidity effect of approx. NOK 200 mill. (Oslo Stock Exchange)

CORRECTION

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In addition of last week’s news about Fjord Line

After 27 of October, until further notice, Fjord Line will be operating with one ship at a time – sailing between Kristiansand and Hirtshals.

In addition, Fjord Line will continue sailing Wednesday and Sunday from Stavanger.

Timetable here.

FERRY SHIPPING

By | 2020 Newsletter week 43 | No Comments

Ryfylkefergen – a Battery Ferry for Full Day Operation without Charging

Norwegian shipyard Westcon in Ølen is to build a fully electric ferry for Norled.

  • Route: Stavanger – Ryfylke archipelago
  • Up to 25 ports may be visited on a day. For this reason, the ferry is designed with interface for ferry linkspans in one end and combined ferry linkspans and roro ramp in the other. Because it is impossible to equip all these ports with chargers, the charging will be done overnight. (large battery packs!)
  • Operator: Kolombus Rogaland / Norled
  • Capacity: 99 pax / 27 cars / 2 trailers
  • Length: 45.4m
  • In aluminium
  • Design: LMG Marin
  • Delivered: 2022

Earlier this year, Westcon and Norled agreed on two more newbuildings, one of which will be Norway’s first hydrogen ferry.

Grimaldi Group Took Delivery of the New RoRo ECO VALENCIA

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Grimaldi Group took delivery of ECO VALENCIA, the first of 12 hybrid roro ships (of which 3 are for Finnlines) part of the new Grimaldi Green 5th Generation class built in China by Nanjing Jinling Shipyard.

  • The vessel will be deployed on the motorways of the seas between Italy and Spain linking Livorno, Savona, Barcelona and Valencia ports
  • Length 238m / beam 34m / gross tonnage 64,000 / 7,800 lane meters
  • The design of the newbuilds was developed by the Technical and Energy Saving Department of the Grimaldi Group together with Knud E. Hansen in close cooperation with the shipyard
  • Classified “Green Plus”, which recognizes the environmental sustainability and performance
  • The vessel also obtained the AIR-LUB notation for her innovative air lubrification system

Deterioration in Viking Line’s Results Due to the Impact of the Pandemic

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January–September 2020

  • Sales €154.2 million (380.8)
  • Operating revenue €16.7 million (0.2)
  • Operating income €-35.2 million (17.5)
  • Net financial items €-3.1 million (-3.6)
  • Income before taxes €-38.3 million (13.9)
  • Income after taxes €-30.8 million (11.1)

Q3, 2020

Sales €56.6 million (153.8)

Operating income totalled €-7.8 million (26.2)

  • Q3 = most of the Group’s income is usually generated, this year negative
  • A large percentage of the staff in Finland was furloughed.
  • Travel restrictions, inconsistent communication from authorities affected travel and sales.
  • Uninterrupted passenger and cargo service in spite of pandemic
  • Liquidity at end of Q3 was stretched and remained at same level since then. Negotiations with financiers were conducted. On October 15, the Finnish Government issued State guarantees for additional loans totalling €38.7 million, which will secure liquidity.
  • The Finnish Transport and Communication Agency (Traficom) launched a tender process for a public transport service provider on Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm, Mariehamn–Kapellskär and Helsinki–Tallinn routes. Viking Line intends to take part in the tender process.

Future prospects unchanged: Income for the full financial year will be negative.

Fjord Line and Color Line Forced to Trim the Sails

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With the ongoing pandemic and restrictions on international travel from and to Norway, both Color Line and Fjord Line decided to reduce capacity.

Color Line: Oslo Kiel

  • As from 4 November, cruise ferry COLOR MAGIC will sail in a customized timetable with freight and Norwegian cruise-only passengers (without disembarking in Kiel).
  • Sister ship COLOR FANTASY will be laid up. This means that another 400 employees will be laid off.

Fjord Line: Bergen – Hirtshals and Hirtshals – Langesund

  • As from 27 October Fjord Line will temporarily stop servicing the routes between Hirtshals, Denmark and two ports in Norway: Bergen and Langesund. (until end of year)
  • Norway’s North Sea coast will still be operated by BERGENSFJORD between Stavanger and Hirtshals, in a freight-only mode.
  • Ropax STAVANGERFJORD to be laid up.

Less Passengers? More Freight Capacity for Spirit of Tasmania

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In its Annual Report 2019/20, TT-Line Company Pty Ltd’s reported total revenue of AUS $270.7 million and an after-tax profit of $32.4 million.

Chairman Michael Grainger said the Company’s performance was adversely impacted by the pandemic.

  • Number of sailings: 842 (867)
  • Passengers 351,224 (446,869)

“The freight volumes carried by the Company for the year were the highest on record, due in part to the increased availability of lane metres on board the ships because of lower passenger requirements.”

Getlink’s Shuttle Profits Temporarily from Lifting of Quarantine

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Q3, 2020 results for Channel Tunnel

Traffic statistics

  • -3% Trucks on Truck Shuttles
  • -30% Cars, Motorhomes, Motorcycles… on Passenger Shuttles
  • -74% Coaches on Passenger Shuttles
  • -89% Passengers on Eurostar trains
  • -23% Rail Freight Trains

 

Finance data

  • -17% Revenue (for the Group)
  • -19% Revenue (for Eurotunnel)

Only -2% Revenue (Eurotunnel Shuttle) “as a result of the bounce back observed following the temporary lifting of UK quarantine measures during Le Shuttle’s peak summer season, the resilience of the Truck Shuttle’s traffic and the positive effects of the Group’s yield management strategy.”