Eurovision Act KAJ Sells Out Cruise in Record Time
Viking Line’s Dialect Cruise on 18 September with Eurovision act KAJ sold out immediately, prompting a second concert on 19 September aboard VIKING GRACE. With nearly 70 music-themed cruises planned this year, music continues to drive strong demand and premium spending onboard.
Corsica Ferries’ “ferry and destination comparator” is a tool to find the best deal on ferries, compare destinations and plan a trip. [ferry comparator]
A few months after the agreement that saw BN di Navigazione – the company behind the BluNavy brand – acquire the Elba Ferries brand and its service slots from Corsica Ferries, the fast ferry CORSICA EXPRESS THREE has also changed hands as part of the same strategic move.
BluNavy’s CEO, Gianluca Morace, confirmed to FERRY SHIPPING NEWS that “the purchase was already included in the terms of the Elba Ferries deal but has simply been brought forward. The investment for the vessel is approximately EUR 3 million.”
The vessel’s deployment is still to be finalised. “As previously announced, during the next summer season, BluNavy will operate with the ferries ACCIARELLO and TREMESTIERI, which are already in service, along with the recently acquired AETHALIA, which will be active from the end of May,” Morace said.
CORSICA EXPRESS THREE is a high-speed vessel built in 1996 in Italy by the Rodriquez Shipyard. She measures 103 metres in length and 15 metres in width, has a maximum speed of 37 knots, and can carry over 500 passengers and 150 cars. In recent years, she has operated for Corsica Ferries on routes between Piombino–Portoferraio and Piombino–Bastia.
TotalEnergies group announced that it has implemented the first biofuel bunkering operation in the Mediterranean from a French port.
The operation was carried out in low-profile mode in the past weeks and the ship involved has been the ro-pax ferry MEGA EXPRESS TWO owned by Corsica Ferries.
Some 100 tons of this product, which is made up of diesel and 30% biomolecules, in this case second-generation fatty acid methyl ester, produced from certified sustainable used cooking oil was provided to the ferry with a truck-to-ship bunkering operation.
Although this is still a trial, this solution should be developed by TotalEnergies Marine Fuels for shipping companies as it allows them to keep existing ships, while limiting greenhouse gas emissions by around 20% according to the company’s estimates.
Initial trials were carried out in Singapore in 2022 and the subsidiary signed a bunkering contract with Hapag Lloyd at the beginning of the year.
Grendi Trasporti Marittimi, ro-ro shipping company part of Grendi Holding and controlled by the Musso family, made public the results reached in 2022.
Last year the group’s turnover was EUR 88 million thanks also to 83,871 TEU containers (+3%) and 50,506 ro-ro units (+59%) transported between Tuscany (port of Marina di Carrara) and Sardinia (Cagliari and Olbia).
The CEOs Antonio and Costanza Musso confirmed that the ro-ro vessel named ROSA DEI VENTI and operated on the line, will be purchased by Corsica Ferries at the end of the current 5-year time charter in May for a price of EUR 35 million.
The time charter contract will be renewed with Grendi for further 5 years and this is just one of the new synergies the companies are creating.
Antonio Musso specified that “with Corsica Ferries we are exploring new opportunities and potential synergies. They are not active in the ro-ro market and they would like to increase their presence in the Sardinia region which is exactly our core business. We are also talking about potentially increasing freight transport by sea with Corsica”.
Last year Grendi and Corsica Ferries also submitted a joint proposal for operating the subsidized Civitavecchia – Arbatax – Cagliari ro-pax line which was finally awarded to Grimaldi.
The 2,430 lane metre ro-ro ROSA DEI VENTI has been sold to Corsica Ferries, some sources told Ferry Shipping News. She was owned by Giovanni Visentini Trasporti Fluviomarittimi.
It’s an option declared at the end of the 5-years bare boat charter agreement with Grendi Trasporti Marittimi. Grendi will continue operating the vessel on the route linking the port of Marina di Carrara with Sardinia (ports of Cagliari and Olbia).
Grendi also extended the time charter agreement of the ro-ro WEDELLSBORG for 17 months. She is owned by Visemar Levante and also operating (since 2021) on the same maritime link in Italy.
Corsica Ferries has a special offer: you can now book a ferry ticket for an unknown destination. The special fare is called “Open Island” and can be booked here.
You just fill in the required dates, pay, and then wait.
Five days before the chosen date, Corsica Ferries will let you know where you are headed: Corsica, Sardinia, or the Balearic Islands.
Zarząd Portu Morskiego Kołobrzeg Sp. z o.o. [The Management Board of the Kołobrzeg Seaport Ltd.] is looking for a Partner to create a terminal and launch a ferry connection.
The task will be performed by granting a concession to operate the terminal and operate the ferry connection.
Zarząd Portu Morskiego Kołobrzeg Sp. z o.o. [The Management Board of the Kołobrzeg Seaport Ltd.] has a Functional and Utility Program and Navigation Expertise for specific ferries, which are attached to the procedure.
The Corsican Chambre of Commerce [2a.cci.fr] publishes monthly the ferry statistics.
When looking at the 2021 results, two main trends are visible:
