On June 15, 2020 BLUE STAR PATMOS left Valletta for Greece.
After a 4-month stay at Palumbo Shipyards, the “blue” ship came back fully repaired and with scrubbers installed.
She arrived there in early March. However, Covid-19 had significantly extended her stay at the Maltese shipyard.
BLUE STAR PATMOS is expected to be introduced on the afternoon Paronaxia route (Piraeus-Paros-Naxos-Santorini) from 2/7 to 7/9, with an extension to Evdilos (Ikaria) and Karlovasi (Samos), 3 times a week.
On June 10, 2020 the Minister of Shipping and Island Policy Mr Giannis Plakiotakis stated during a press conference that the Ministry’s main priorities remain the financial support of Coastal Shipping as well as the utilization of Greece’s ten major ports.
As far as the financial support to the country’s ferry operators is concerned, he noted that the Ministry of Shipping is in consultation with the Ministry of Finance and they are preparing a joint proposal to the European Commission, in order to compensate the ferry operators that were financially affected by the pandemic, with community funds.
At the same time, he added that the development of ferry connections is a strategic choice for the government, which is also considering further support for coastal shipping.
Referring to the ports, he stressed that the plans for their development are proceeding normally, as the interest of the investors remains strong. It is noted that the American interest in the port of Alexandroupolis is intense and the procedures will begin immediately, while the Grimaldi Group has expressed interest for the port of Igoumenitsa.
Because of Covid-19, the route between Sandefjord (Norway) and Strømstad (Sweden) has been suspended until further notice.
The route will resume when Norwegian authorities allow quarantine-free traffic to Sweden.
From June 18, route vessel OSLOFJORD will be moved to operate on Langesund – Hirtshals, with daily departures in both directions.
With the potential easing of lockdown restrictions and the re-emergence of non-essential travel, the Swedish ferry company Stena Line has announced a set of safety measures aimed at ensuring ferry travel is the safest form of public transport. Social distancing, fog machines, fresh sea air inside the ships and the recommended wearing of face coverings, are all seen as key to reassuring customers about the future of ferry travel as countries reopen their borders in the coming weeks.
A Strong Irish Continental Group Cancels Its Newbuilding
1)
In a statement, Irish Continental Group said that Covid-19 makes it difficult to estimate the full year financial impact on the Group.
Reason is the significant reduction in current passenger traffic and forward bookings for what is normally the peak Summer passenger season for ICG’s Irish Ferries services.
“It is very difficult to estimate the full year financial impact on the Group, as the reduction in passenger revenue will be material. In the period from 1/1 to 6/6 car volumes are down 62% with total passenger volumes down 60%.
The impact of Covid-19 on roro has been limited. Roro volumes are down 4%, container volumes are down 13% with container lifts on ICG terminals down 14%.
2)
In the statement, ICG also talks about the Public Services Obligation (PSO) model from the Irish Government. “This was not an approach that we recommended as we believe this model was liable to create distortions in the marketplace and could be open to legal challenge. For both these reasons we decided not to participate in this PSO model, but we committed, without any Government support, to continue operating our lossmaking routes which provide a vital lifeline service to our Island.
3)
ICG announced it has terminated its newbuilding contract with the German shipbuilder FSG.
4)
The Group is in a strong financial position to weather this Covid-19 storm.
The Finnish Government plans to support ferry companies with a total of EUR 24.7 million.
The earlier support for lifeline freight services expires this week (week 25).
Finland has opened the borders for Norway and Estonia, but not for Sweden. That means that lines from Sweden to Helsinki, Marieham, Vasa and Turku will still suffer.
The new support will be administered by the FinnishTransport and Communications Agency Traficom.
The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules the prolongation until end 2023 of various Italian support measures for maritime transport under Italy’s “International Registry” scheme. The scheme encourages shipping companies to register their ships in Europe and so ensure higher social, environmental and safety standards.
Italy has also committed to a number of changes to its scheme to avoid undue competition distortion as well as to prevent any discrimination between shipping companies and registries of different European Economic Area (EEA) States.
P&O Ferries Inform Freight Customers About Dover Wharfage Charge
In a letter, P&O Ferries tells its customers that Dover Harbour Board have served all shipping companies a notice of a £5 increase in wharfage charges across all freight unit types.
This increased charge applies to trucks, unaccompanied trailers or vans as from 19 July (ref the letter from Dover Harbour Board).
“We have little choice but to pass on this additional £5 (or €6) charge to our customers as from the same date,” writes P&O Ferries.
Cuts To Ferry Capacity Raise Fears For Arran Economy (Scotland)
The Arran Ferry Action Group said that moves to limit numbers threatened tourism on the island in the Firth of Clyde and could be catastrophic for the economy.
