- KOPERNIK ended her service in the Unity Line fleet on 27 February. What is going to happen with the ship is not known yet.
- Baja Ferries announced on its LinkedIn page that it is hiring a naval architect for ro-pax ships for Miami or Mexico. ( jobs @ bajaferries usa . com )
- Veteran ferry APOLLO connecting Matane, Baie-Comeau and Godbout, St. Lawrence river, Canada, suffered a hole in the hull, in a collision with unidentified port structure in the morning of 25 February, in Godbout. All scheduled trips were cancelled. Ferry remained berthed in Godbout, to be surveyed and repaired. (Source: Fleetmon)
- As expected (see last week’s news), La Méridionale was victim of a strike on Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 February. The unions are worried about the future contract for the delegation of public services between mainland France and Corsica.
- Double-ender ferries BASTO II and III have been used by Torghatten Nord on the Halhjem – Sandvikvag route due to the non-availability of that route’s new tonnage. The Tersan-built ferries HUFTARØY and SAMNØY have been spotted in the English Channel on their delivery trip from Turkey to Norway, with several months delay. It also appears that the Vard-newbuildings (Romania) are facing a delay.
- The plan to put freight ferry FINLANDIA SEAWAYS on a Zeebrugge-Norway service has been changed. The vessel is now operating on Vlaardingen-Immingham. Instead, the Norway service is being operated with chartered sideloader vessels (for the paper cargo from Norske Skog). Initially the service would have started in February. The port of Brevik will be called en route between Ghent and Gotenburg.
Last week I was a few days onboard the first LNG-powered cruise ship, the AIDAnova. Sailing from Tenerife to Fuerteventura and Lanzarote allowed me to get a better understanding of the local ferry services, and to take the following pictures.
Molslinjen’s New Fast Ferry Has Arrived in Denmark
After having sailed all the way from Australia to Denmark, the EXPRESS 4 finally berthed in Aarhus on Sunday 24 February. The Austal-built HSC left Perth on 29 January.
She will enter service on 14 March.
See the arrival video on Stiften.dk
DP World Acquires P&O Ferries Again
DP World PLC announced the acquisition of the holding company of P&O Ferries and P&O Ferrymasters for a purchase consideration of GBP322 million.
The transaction is subject to customary completion conditions and is expected to close in the first half of 2019.
DP World acquired the British company in 2006, but soon sold off P&O Ferries to its major shareholder, Dubai World. Now it is buying it back from Dubai World.
DP World Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said earlier that the indecisiveness of British politicians on the Brexit was obstructing the company’s ability to plan for their UK operations (according to Reuters).
P&O Ferries operates a fleet of 21 vessels on the Short Sea, North Sea and Irish Sea sectors across 11 ports.
As from 24 February 2019 onwards, CLdN ro-ro will deploy a larger vessel on the Göteborg trade.
By introducing CATHERINE, the total capacity on the trade will be increased by a further 20%.
The introduction of an extra ro-ro links perfectly in with CLdN’s long-term strategy to continue deploying larger vessels on the trade.
Stena RoRo has purchased the ferry YAMATO from the Japanese shipping company Hankyu Ferry. The vessel will be rebuilt at a shipyard in Europe and be fully adapted to European standards, after which it will be chartered out. This process will begin in spring 2020 and the ferry is estimated to be in traffic by the summer.
“On the European market, demand is greater than availability for this type of vessel, which is why we have turned to the Asian market, primarily Japan”, says Per Westling, CEO Stena RoRo.
Facts: Length 195m, Speed 23.5 knots, Lane metres 2,350, Build year 2003
The Tuscan Region revealed this week that the local port authority in Livorno asked the winners of the public tender launched for the Porto Livorno 2000 ro-pax terminal, to close the deal before the end of March.
Last summer Moby (through Sinergest, Moby and Ltm) and Marinvest (MSC group) were officially awarded the privatization procedure aimed at selling a 66% stake in the company for € 10.7 million and in change for € 91 million in the next two to three decades.
Before closing the deal the winners are asking the port authority to clarify whether Porto Livorno 2000 will be or not the only ferry and cruise terminal active in Livorno since there is still pending a legal dispute concerning Grimaldi’s ro-pax traffic handled at the nearby Sintermar Darsena Toscana terminal.
A mailshot from Eurotunnel might indicate that bookings for Easter are through the floor. “Do you want to get on and make holiday plans, but feel a little hesitant? We want to take this opportunity to reassure you that we are Brexit-ready,” says the Eurotunnel message.
On top of the existing flexible booking terms (amending ticket free of charge up to 24 hours in advance), Eurotunnel introduced a new Brexit-proof promise: free cancellations up to 7 days before travel (if booked before end of February, for travel between 14 March and 30 September).
What happens now at La Meridionale is very unusual for this ferry company belonging to the STEF Group: there is social agitation.
The reason is that La Meridionale will only be allowed to sail to Bastia, Ile-Rousse and Porto-Vecchio, and no longer to the major port of Ajaccio, and Propriano.
The case has to do with the delegation of public services (starting in October, for a duration of 15 months).
The candidature of Corsica Linea was retained for five ports. Since Corsica Linea and La Meridionale tendered separately, this would mean that the latter will be excluded from these ports.
Because the unions fear the fact that one vessel might be withdrawn from the service, making crews redundant, they started to call for action.
The company announced they will appeal against the decision.
Australia’s newest and biggest cargo ship was named as TASMANIAN ACHIEVER II at a special ceremony in Burnie, on Sunday 17 February.
TASMANIAN ACHIEVER II is the largest general cargo ship to fly the Australian flag and is set to enter service on 1 March, carrying goods between the Port of Melbourne and the Tasmanian Port of Burnie.
The new ship will make the 396 km Bass Strait crossing between Melbourne and Burnie in 13 hours, an hour faster than its predecessor and has capacity to carry 40 per cent more cargo, both in trucks or in containers.
TASMANIAN ACHIEVER II’S identical sister ship, VICTORIAN RELIANCE II will be named at a ceremony scheduled next weekend at Toll’s wharf in Webb Dock, Port of Melbourne.
Photo: Mr Will Hodgman, Premier of Tasmania; John Mullen, Toll Group Chairman; Hayley Burr, Tasmania Achiever II Junior Sponsor; and Taneki Ono, Japan Post First Executive Officer.