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Tag: Brittany Ferries | Page 2 | Ferry Shipping News

Sep 29
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Brittany Ferries announces the use of the inflatable wing sail prototype Wisamo on Ro-Ro PELICAN

By | 2023 Newsletter week 39 | No Comments

The crew of the PELICAN is set to use the inflatable wing sail prototype Wisamo (Wing Sails Mobility) by the Michelin Group, starting this week. The wing is expected to be utilized for 6 to 8 hours during a 30-hour crossing. The Wisamo inflatable sail is a 100 m² wing that was installed on the vessel in November 2022.

In April 2023, after a series of tests and adjustments, the Norwegian classification company DNV approved Michelin Group’s Wisamo sail system.

PELICAN, chartered by Brittany Ferries from Compagnie Maritime Nantaise, operates between Poole and Bilbao.

Jun 23
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Brittany Ferries selected Rina’s Sertica as the preferred fleet management system

By | 2023 Newsletter week 25 | No Comments

Brittany Ferries has selected Rina’s Sertica as its new fleet management system.

A statement from the Italian group explains that the decision to implement Sertica followed an extensive evaluation by Brittany Ferries, in seeking a reliable and hosted fleet management solution. It is specifically designed to streamline and optimize maritime operations, by offering a wide range of features for maintenance, procurement and safety management. The system empowers fleet operators with the tools to enhance efficiency and ensure regulatory compliance.

By adopting Rina’s system, Brittany Ferries will replace multiple systems and reinforce its commitment to excellence and innovation in the maritime industry.

Jun 16
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Repsol’s second LNG bunker terminal in Santander opens to fuel Brittany Ferries’ SANTOÑA

By | 2023 Newsletter week 24 | No Comments

Energy company Repsol has inaugurated its second LNG supply terminal. The inauguration took place in Santander Spain on 7th June and was attended by Repsol’s Executive Managing Director of Circular Economy and Industrial Transformation, Juan Abascal and Brittany Ferries’ CEO Christophe Mathieu.

The terminal comprises a cryogenic tank with a storage capacity of 1,000m3. It follows the opening of an LNG bunker facility in Bilbao last year. The two facilities are part of a collaboration agreement that Repsol signed with Brittany Ferries in 2019 for the supply of LNG for ships serving Spanish routes.

The new terminal is co-financed by the European Commission through the CEF-Connecting Europe Facilities Program.

By the end of the first year of operations, it is estimated its emissions of CO2 will have been cut by around 12,000 tons.

Jun 09
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Brand new MOBY FANTASY arrived in Italy

By | 2023 Newsletter week 23 | No Comments

The impressive MOBY FANTASY recently delivered by China’s Guangzhou Shipyard successfully concluded its maiden voyage from the Far East to Europe.

Moby’s new flagship, under the command of Genoese captain Massimo Pinsolo, crossed two oceans and the Suez Canal before arriving in the Tyrrhenian Sea at the port of Livorno.

The huge Ro-Pax will be officially presented in Olbia on June 17, and start operating from late June on the Livorno – Olbia route.

With its 37m length, 32m width and a gross tonnage of 69,500 tons, MOBY FANTASY is the one of largest passenger ferries in the world. She has a capacity of 3,000 passengers and 3,850 lane metres.

The high sustainability standards also make it one of the most advanced and technologically sophisticated ferries with respect to environmental protection and emission reduction.

Jun 09
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Brittany Ferries reports encouraging passenger volumes, but freight slump worsens

By | 2023 Newsletter week 23 | No Comments

Freight down:

  • Since Brexit, Brittany Ferries has seen a decline of around 1/5th in total freight volumes carried on the Channel.
  • This year (2023) the drop has worsened worryingly.
  • From the start of April, the company has averaged around 2,000 fewer freight units per month than expected. The equates to a drop of around 8% compared with last year.
  • Reason: over-capacity and a price war on short sea routes.

OUTLOOK: if this weaker pattern continues, estimates for year-end suggest 15% worse freight performance than originally projected.

Passenger up:

  • Passenger volumes for 2023 are encouraging, if not spectacular.
  • Volumes are significantly up on 2022, but still lag behind 2019 which was the last pre-Covid comparison year.
  • So far this year, Brittany Ferries has booked 1,504,274 passengers (those who have already travelled and those holding a forward reservation). That’s a 17.6% increase on the same period in 2022.
  • However, volumes are still down by nearly 15% compared with 2019, a deficit of around 270,000 passengers.
  • Looking at forward reservations for the high season (covering April – October), reservations have reached 1,224,120 passengers, compared with 1,097,724 for the same period in 2022. This is an increase of 126,396 passengers, or 12%.

OUTLOOK: for year-end the company is forecasting an 18% boost in total passenger numbers compared with 2022.

 In total 1.95 million passengers are forecast to have travelled with Brittany Ferries by the end of the year. This would be a positive result, but still around 100,000 fewer travellers than expected.

Source and details per route in this press release.

May 05
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Brittany Ferries and William the Conqueror: it will happen in 2025

By | 2023 Newsletter week 18 | No Comments

Brittany Ferries has announced the name of its forthcoming hybrid ship, which will sail between Portsmouth and Caen: GUILLAUME DE NORMANDIE.

The name was confirmed at a press conference held in Caen, where Guillaume de Normandie (William the Conqueror) is buried.

She will join the Brittany Ferries fleet in May 2025, sailing alongside sister-ship SAINT-MALO.

GUILLAUME DE NORMANDIE will replace Brittany Ferries’ NORMANDIE, a loyal servant sailing since 1992.

Apr 28
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Brittany Ferries: major contract extension for Telenor Maritime connectivity solutions

By | 2023 Newsletter week 17 | No Comments

Brittany Ferries has extended its contract with Telenor Maritime for connectivity of its fleet operating on routes between the UK, France, and Spain. The new contract expands the scope of services delivered by Telenor Maritime, enabling a more resilient network for ship to shore communications and a better experience for passengers, crew, and operations.

The combination of VSAT and mobile broadband backhauls with the new addition of low latency, high speed radio link backhauls will deliver higher quality, cost-effective wi-fi and mobile services for passengers, crew, operations, and business activities. Redundancy of this connectivity setup provides network stability, and in turn increases the level of cyber security for the networks on board.

Read more on Telenormaritime.com
Mar 03
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Brittany Ferries welcomes Santoña

By | 2023 Newsletter week 9 | No Comments

The newest Brittany Ferries fleet member SANTOÑA sailed into Portsmouth for the first time last night (2 February) at the end of her maiden commercial voyage from Santander, Spain.  Her maiden trip from the UK is tonight.

Powered by LNG, the vessel has a capacity for 1,015 passengers and 2,705 lane metres of freight.

SANTOÑA is the third E-flexer class cruiseferry to join the Brittany Ferries fleet and will operate two roundtrips from Portsmouth to Santander per week, and one on the Portsmouth – Cherbourg route.

The next two Brittany Ferries E-flexer newbuild vessels will be hybrid, operating on both electric and LNG.  They will replace the BRETAGNE in 2024 and NORMANDIE in 2025 on the Portsmouth – Saint Malo and Portsmouth – Caen routes respectively.

Christophe Mathieu Chief Executive, Brittany Ferries at Santoña inauguration 1 March 2023.

Photos: Brittany Ferries

Feb 24
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In Brief

By | 2023 Newsletter week 8 | No Comments
  • In addition to boosting capacity on Finnlines’ own Zeebrugge – Rosslare route, FINNPULP is also to be chartered to P&O Ferries for one roundtrip per week. The vessel will depart Zeebrugge on Tuesdays and Teesport on Wednesdays from 28 February.  The ferry companies have an existing cooperation, P&O Ferries providing stevedoring and ship handling for Finnlines’ Rosslare service at the Belgian port.
  • Viking Line has announced that 13 March to 25 June, CINDERELLA will call at Kapellskär on her morning departure from Mariehamn to Stockholm. The sailing is a result of the sale of the ROSELLA and the loss of her sailings from Åland to Kapellskär.

Photo: Viking Line

  • Björn Blomqvist, CEO of Rederi Ab Eckerö Group, has revealed that there has been recent interest in the sale or charter of their idle cruise vessel BIRKA STOCKHOLM. The ship has been laid up since the Covid pandemic arrived in March 2020.  With interest from Europe and Southeast Asia there have also been enquires for using her as an accommodation vessel.
  • From 1 March, Brittany Ferries will switch from Pound Sterling to Euro as the base currency onboard. Sterling will still be accepted onboard at the daily exchange rate but all products and services will have prices displayed as Euro. Full details of the change can be found here.

Photo: Brittany Ferries

  • Molslinjen has been given permission to replace the MAX MOLS with the EXPRESS 1 when the newbuild EXPRESS 5 is delivered as the main Bornholm fast ferry. Due to the subsidised service, the decision required approval of the Danish Ministry of Transport.  The capacity of EXPRESS 1 up to that of the MAX MOLS will be sold within the contract but the additional part is to be sold commercially at Bornholmslinjen’s own risk.  This arrangement will initially be for one year.
  • Molslinjen’s fast ferries on the Kattegat are now registered with the Too Good To Go food waste scheme. This means that ferry passengers on the last departures of the day to Aarhus have the opportunity to buy food to take home from the ferries’ catering outlets. The scheme attempts to reduce food waste.  A bag of food purchased on the app costs DKK 39 and can contain items such as croissants, sandwiches or salads.

Photo: Molslinjen

Jan 27
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Brittany Ferries confirms the order for rail wagons between Normandy and Nouvelle Aquitaine

By | 2023 Newsletter week 4 | No Comments

French Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune, presided the signing of the contract for the supply of wagons that will circulate on the Cherbourg-Mouguerre multimodal motorway on behalf of Lohr and Brittany Ferries.

Main characteristics of this ‘rail motorway’:

A rail service with sea connections linking Poole, Portsmouth and Rosslare to Cherbourg, allowing seamless transport of unaccompanied trailers from Ireland and UK to the Iberian Peninsula and vice versa.

A 970km rail journey replacing a 920km road journey.

A regular year-round service, with one daily return journey, six to seven days per week, operated by two trains:

Each train is composed of 21 MODALOHR UIC wagons with double pockets, allowing 42 trailers to be transported. Trailers are rolled on and off using specialised horizontal handling equipment.

From 2024 trains will be routed via Saintes, then from 2026 via the Poitiers-Angoulême-Bordeaux mainline.

Journeys have been timetabled to connect with ferry arrival and departure times, whilst also avoiding periods of peak road traffic in Cherbourg.