Port of Antwerp-Bruges stable in 2022 Unaccompanied roro cargo successful

By | 2023 Newsletter week 2 | No Comments

2022 was a year of challenges for Port of Antwerp-Bruges. Geopolitical tensions, the energy crisis and ongoing disruptions in supply chains made their presence felt.

The challenges were most palpable in container traffic. Container throughput fell 8.6% in tons and 5.2% in TEUs in 2022, compared with a strong 2021, back to pre-pandemic levels.

Total roro traffic (including PCTC traffic) saw an increase of 6.5%.

More than 3.26 million new cars were handled in 2022, an annualised growth of 10.5%. Throughput of ‘high & heavy’ rolling stock increased by 9.6%, while throughput of used cars and trucks decreased by 13.2% and 17% respectively.

Unaccompanied cargo (excluding containers) grew 10.0%, a significant portion of which was related to the United Kingdom (+4.9%) and Ireland (+35%).

Tallink Grupp’s 2022 annual passenger figure bounces back after COVID years and nearly doubles compared to 2021

By | 2023 Newsletter week 1 | No Comments

Tallink Grupp’s figures show improvement after the last two COVID years despite the global economic and security challenges and despite six of the company’s vessels being chartered out by Q4 of the year.

  • During the full year 2022, Tallink Grupp transported +84.4% passengers (5,462,085)
  • Passenger numbers increased on all three of the company’s current regular routes Finland-Sweden, Estonia-Finland and Estonia-Sweden compared to 2021, with the greatest increase of 96% on the Finland-Sweden routes, the Estonia-Sweden route following closely behind with a 93.4% increase, and the Estonia-Finland route seeing an increase of 76.9%.
  • The number of passenger vehicles transported in 2022 increased by 36,1%.
  • The number of cargo units carried by the company in 2022, although not seeing as sharp an increase as passenger numbers, also increased by 11%.
  • The greatest increase in the cargo units carried was seen on the company’s Estonia-Finland routes, which saw a 19% increase in unit numbers year-on-year.
  • The only decrease of the year was the company’s cargo units carried on the Finland-Sweden routes, impacted by the chartering out of the company’s vessel GALAXY, leading to reduced cargo capacity.

Viking Line: 2022 was eventful and successful

By | 2023 Newsletter week 1 | No Comments

Year 2022, like the previous year, continued to be exceptional for the whole world, as well as for Viking Line:

Negative: pandemic + Ukraine + sky-high fuel prices + market uncertainty.

Positive: a renewed demand to travel, especially locally.

Fleet changes:

  • AMORELLA and ROSELLA sold.
  • VIKING GLORY entered service in March. The ship has been very popular and will reach the 1 million passenger milestone after less than a year in traffic.

Traffic in 2022:

+114% Total passengers 4,945,564 (2,315,137)

+116% Turku – Åland – Stockholm 1,955,988 (904,321). Viking Line’s market share was 64 %.

+236% Route Helsinki – Åland – Stockholm (GABRIELLA) 515,445 (153,183) passengers.

+102% Route Stockholm – Mariehamn (cruise with VIKING CINDERELLA) 517,354 (256,344)

+33% Route Mariehamn – Kapellskär (ROSELLA) 464,375 (348,209)

+116% Route Helsinki – Tallinn (VIKING XPRS) 1,266,642 (586,354)

+42% Total passenger cars 630,651 (442,484)

-9% Total freight units 117,777 (129,278)

Photographer: Joonas Kortelainen

Corsica Linea took delivery of A GALEOTTA

By | 2022 Newsletter week 49 | No Comments

Corsica Linea took delivery of the new LNG-powered RoPax named A GALEOTTA, built by Cantiere Navale Visentini shipyard in Porto Viro.

The vessel will have the capacity to accommodate 650 passengers and 2,560 lane meters of freight. Also, the ship will be able to carry 150 cars on a separate deck.

Corsica Linea’s ferries provide year-round services from Marseille, the main trading port in France to the Mediterranean island of Corsica. The vessel is to be deployed on the route linking Marseille and Ajaccio / Bastia.

Dutch firm Titan will bunker Corsica Linea’s first LNG-powered RoPax in Marseille, as part of a deal revealed in January this year. Titan will first provide truck-to-ship operations until its 4,500 m3 LNG bunkering vessel KRIOS arrives.

DFDS September Volumes: Freight continues growth in Mediterranean and North Sea

By | 2022 Newsletter week 41 | No Comments

Ferry – freight:

  • Due to lower volumes on the Dover Strait and on the Baltic Sea, total volumes in September 2022 were 7.5% below 2021. Freight volumes were above 2021 in all other regions.
  • North Sea volumes were above 2021 despite a negative impact from a strike in Felixstowe port as volumes to a large extent were diverted to the Immingham port instead.
  • Volumes in the Mediterranean network continued to grow driven by Turkish industrial production and exports.
  • Channel’s volumes were below 2021 following lower activity on the Dover Strait on account of a decrease in total market volumes and addition of capacity by Irish Ferries.
  • Channel’s year-to-date volumes were 0.3% above 2021.
  • Baltic Sea’s volumes were below 2021 due to the war in Ukraine, although to a lower extent than in previous months.
  • For the last twelve months 2022-21, the total transported freight lane metres decreased 1.5% to 43.1m from 43.8m in 2021-20.

Ferry – passenger

  • The number of passengers increased more than three times to 371k equal to 82% of volumes in September 2019, the latest comparable month pre-Covid-19.
  • The number of cars equalled 89% of volumes in 2019. Channel’s volumes were reduced by the addition of capacity by Irish Ferries.
  • For the last twelve months 2022-21, the total number of passengers was 3.3m compared to 0.8m in 2021-20 and 5.1m in 2019.

Tallink Grupp reports largest quarterly passenger number since 2019

By | 2022 Newsletter week 40 | No Comments

September

The September figures reflect the fact that as of 20 September 2022, six of the company’s vessels are chartered out.

+26.5% pax / +0.6% freight units / -4.7% pax vehicles

Q3

The biggest passenger number increase during the quarter was on the Finland-Sweden route with the passenger number increasing in Q3 2022 by a total of 82.2% compared to the same period last year.

The Estonia-Finland route also saw significant recovery in passenger numbers during the quarter year-on-year with the passenger number up in 2022 by 61.7%

+65.5% pax / +13.1% freight units / +21% passenger vehicles

Commenting on the statistics, Paavo Nõgene, CEO of Tallink Grupp said: 

 “As we enter the last quarter of this turbulent year, we have taken several steps to secure our business over the low season, both through unpleasant, but vital price increases as well as various charter agreements for our vessels. Although the latter means that we have less services to offer our loyal customers over the coming months, it also means that we have secured the future of these vessels in our fleet and will be able to offer more of these services again once our vessels return to the Baltic Sea.”

Irish Continental Group, 2022, H1 results: significant improvement

By | 2022 Newsletter week 34 | No Comments

Financial summary (EUR)

Revenue 263.1m  +85.8%

EBITDA 47.3m +272.4%

Operating profit 17.4m (was -10.3m)

Profit before tax 15.4m (was -12.2m)

Volume movements (,000)           

Cars 214.2 +618.8%

RoRo freight  330.2 +160.6%

Containers shipped (teu) 169.3 +4.2%

Port lifts 164.9 +0.4%

The performance of the ferries operations in HY 2022 was significantly improved on HY 2021 as travel patterns gradually returned towards pre-pandemic levels after the disruption caused by Covid-19 across 2020 and 2021.

The impact of the Dover – Calais operations, which commenced on 29 June 2021, can also be seen in the result for the period as the service moved to a three vessel operation with the addition of the ISLE OF INISHEER.

Outlook

The trading performance for the year to date across all our business has been strong. Despite significant cost pressures in both divisions, we have managed to maintain and grow profitability. The Group’s cost base has been affected by higher global prices, in particular fuel prices and charter rates. The Group so far has been successful on passing these costs through to customers. It is essential that the Group continues to do so.

The Ferries Division has enjoyed the benefit of a return to more normal travel patterns although Irish Ferries are yet to reach pre-pandemic levels.

Cars volumes increased on the legacy routes by 190.8% versus the same period in the prior year.

Trading in the key summer months of July and August was ahead of expectations.

RoRo freight business, despite the disruption of Brexit has continued to grow. RoRo volume growth on the legacy routes has increased by 12.9% year to date. This has been primarily driven by a return of freight traffic to the landbridge routes at the expense of the direct European routes.

Following the entry of the ISLE OF INISHEER to service on the Dover – Calais route in April 2022, Irish Ferries have been operating a full service with three vessels on the route. Performance on the route continues to match expectations.

Eckerö Group 2022, Q2 results

By | 2022 Newsletter week 34 | No Comments
  • +200% pax = 722,917 (240,209), which is in line with passenger volumes before the outbreak of the pandemic.
  • -4% cargo units = 41,432 (43,276)
  • Sales amounted to EUR 50.9 million (EUR 27.2 million)
  • The passenger market share was 66% (54%) on the short route between the Åland Islands and Sweden. On the route between Helsinki and Tallinn, the passenger market share was 29% (27%) and cargo market share was 31% (35%)
  • Bunker prices were high, however 30% of the estimated bunker volumes are price hedged
  • Operating result was EUR 1.0 million (EUR -2.0 million), adjusted for revenue from state support operating result was EUR 0.8 million (EUR -6.9 million)
  • Result for the period was EUR -0.2 million (EUR -1.0 million)
  • Interest-bearing liabilities were EUR 96.2 million (EUR 108.1 million)
  • Net debt was EUR 72.3 million (EUR 81.2 million)
  • Cash and cash equivalents amounted to EUR 23.8 million (EUR 26.9 million). Undrawn credit limits amounted to EUR 7.0 million (EUR 0.0 million)
  • Q3 has started with volumes on pre-pandemic levels

Finnlines’ Financial Review H1

By | 2022 Newsletter week 30 | No Comments
  • +32% revenue totalling EUR 356.9 million
  • +0.5% cargo units totalling 393,000
  • -19% cars totalling 73,000
  • +9% tons of freight not possible to measure in units, totalling 742,000
  • +25% passengers (incl. commercial) totalling 286,000
  • Due to EU sanctions Finnlines stopped calling Russian ports in early March, which naturally has resulted in loss of revenue. However, the increased cargo volumes on other lines have compensated for this loss and the passenger business has also recovered and reached pre-pandemic figures.
  • The three Finneco series hybrid ro-ro vessels were all delivered during the late spring and early summer of 2022 at the shipyard in China. The vessels have entered Finnlines’ North Sea and Bay of Biscay services.
  • The roro vessel FINNMERCHANT in Poland-Finland route was chartered out to Dutch MoD in early July but she was replaced by FINNMILL vessel to support the increased volumes.