Since 15 September, Grimaldi Group has a daily departure on Livorno-Palermo, in both directions. A second ferry has been added.
The additional ship deployed on the route is ropax CRUISE SMERALDA (2,000 lane meters, 1,500 pax, 100 cars).
She joins ZEUS PALACE (2,000 lane meters, 1,700 pax, 100 cars).
From now on, Smyril Line’s roro AKRANES will arrive every Sunday in Vlaardingen, coming from Norway. DFDS will handle the discharging and loading of trailers, containers and machinery. Then the ship will sail back to Stavanger, Trondheim, Rørvik and Hitra.
To support the DFDS network, the departure from Vlaardingen to Felixstowe will be delayed with one hour to offer customers a connection from Norway to the UK.
P&O FERRYMASTERS is launching an advanced track and trace service for its container customers, making it the first major logistics business in Europe to introduce the technology.
The service will allow customers to receive real-time updates on the precise location of their goods as they are transported by rail, road and sea. This innovation improves efficiency, reduces costs and increases the speed of information exchange. (see video below)
POVL ANKER is in dock at Ørskov Shipyard in Frederikshavn from 14 September to 20 October.
The planned refurbishment of POVL ANKER was postponed twice because of COVID-19. The risk that the route to Ystad would be closed by the authorities meant that POVL ANKER had to be kept ready for deployment, in case the island of Bornholm was suddenly completely dependent on the Rønne-Køge route.
Work includes a major energy renovation, A/C, oil treatment plant, lighting, gensets, engines and steam boilers. The ferry will also be repainted as when it was delivered in 1978.
(geen foto beschikbaar)
Earlier this week, JSW Steel presented a new investment plan for the steel plant based in the port of Piombino, where a new shipyard is also expected to be realized.
Fincantieri and JSW signed an agreement aimed at exploring the possibility to create a shipbuilding site for new ferries, offshore units and other maritime installations.
It’s unclear at the moment if and how this new shipyard would be related with the newly built Piombino Industrie Marittime which is indirectly participated by Fincantiei through San Giorgio del Porto.
The investment fund Creon Capital has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with JSW Steel Italy Piombino, Piombino Logistics and GSI Lucchini Spa, aiming for the development of a sustainable energy industry in Italy. Together with local partners, the fund proposed to start working on an investment plan that should upscale the Tuscan region of Piombino into a cluster for hydrogen, renewable energy, LNG, and logistics.
Port of Calais No Longer Wants to Pay
The port of Calais CEO Jean-Marc Puissesseau says he no longer wants to pay the cost of checking lorries bound for the U.K. for migrants.
This costs the French Channel port EUR 8 million a year.
In a letter to the French prime minister he asked the government to review the Le Touquet agreements (*), and “send the bill to the UK, which is now out of the EU.”
(*) Juxtaposed controls, a reciprocal arrangement between Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom whereby border controls take place before boarding the ferry, rather than after disembarkation.
Public Service Contract for Corsica: What’s Up?
In January 2020, Corsica Linea and La Méridionale submitted a joint application for the public service contract for the links with Corsica. (Ferry Shipping News)
This new contract should start on 1 January 2021 (until end of 2027), but so far, no decision has been taken.
Two ongoing investigations are disrupting the decision schedule:
The pandemic-related financial problems of shipping companies may lead to the sale of ferries and the permanent deterioration of Finland’s maritime connections.
Viking Line’s CEO Jan Hanses talks about overcapacity in the Baltic and Viking Line’s attempt to sell ferries (with interest from the Med).
Government communications receive harsh criticism from Tallink’s CEO Margus Schults. “The messy communication about the restrictions has been going on the whole summer. People do not dare to travel, even if it would be allowed and safe.”
BLUE STAR CHIOS Sent to Lesbos to Host Asylum Seekers
September 10, 2020. Blue Star Ferries BLUE STAR CHIOS arrived in the port of Sigri (Lesbos) in order to host 1,000 asylum seekers after the destruction of the Moria facility.
The ship was about to stop service and undergo scheduled repairs. However, the sad incident at Lesbos sends her there to work as a hotel ship following a temporary plan of the Hellenic government. More asylum seekers will also be hosted by the Hellenic Navy ships for a while.
A Greek traditional shipowner seems to be the buyer of the Croatian Adriatic Lines’ HSC ADRIATIC JET. The vessel has already been renamed SPEED CAT 1.
The ship that will soon join the Hellenic coastal shipping was serving the Venice-Rovinj-Pula-Porec line.
Shipowner: Alpha Lines Shipping Co – 4, Skouze Street, 185 36 Piraeus, Greece.
