Tag: DFDS | Page 17 | Ferry Shipping News

Following a successful hand-over to DFDS, three out of six mega freight ferries have now been delivered to DFDS.

Danish-flagged HOLLANDIA SEAWAYS is now on her way to her new home on the North Sea.

“Right now, the plan is a test call in Vlaardingen on 22 November, perhaps an additional call in Immingham and then final arrival in Gothenburg. The calls in Vlaardingen and Immingham are still subject to making her arrival in time to Gothenburg,” says Jens Peter Baltsersen, Senior Project Manager on the DFDS Newsroom.

After DFDS took over U.N. Ro-Ro, the Danish Company started to restructure the routes:

• Volumes between Istanbul and Trieste were increased with around 30%
• Introduction of new ro-ro ferries and lengthening of existing vessels.
• An extra port of call in Yalova in the southern part of Istanbul was added to the network.

In July 2019, a new route was opened between Istanbul and Sète (southern France) in addition to the existing route between Istanbul and Toulon.

To further align the route network with customer requirements, several changes have now been implemented.

France:

• The two routes between Istanbul and southern France, calling Toulon and Sète respectively, are now merged into one route, Istanbul (Yalova)-Sète. Sète offers intermodal services, is located close to the Spanish border (important fruit & vegetables markets) and offers facilities for refrigerated cargo.
• DFDS will now operate three weekly calls to and from Sète where arrivals and departures will be aligned with rail service schedules. Rail becomes increasingly important. A train service to Calais is being worked on.
• It means the termination of DFDS sailings to Toulon.
• Sète expects 70,000 freight units per year (with 3 weekly calls).

Turkey:

• All sailings to France from Istanbul, that previously departed from two ports, will now depart only from Yalova.
• In addition, two weekly sailings to Trieste will depart from Yalova.

All other sailings between Istanbul and Trieste will depart from the Pendik and Ambarli port terminals.

Joining the ‘Getting to Zero’ coalition, DFDS supports accelerating the development and deployment of zero emission vessels by 2030

The Getting to Zero coalition was officially launched on the day of the UN Climate Action Summit of 23 September. It aims to bring together industry leaders to innovate and achieve the IMO’s target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shipping by 50% compared to the level in 2008.

“We want to be part of developing technology that, by 2030, will allow zero-emission vessels and zero-emission fuels to be technically feasible, safe, and commercially viable for deep-sea shipping. This is supported by the more than 70 organisations which have joined the coalition, and 10 countries spanning five continents have also endorsed it so far,” says Torben Carlsen, CEO of DFDS.

The ferries swap announced last Friday by DFDS and Moby represents the last chapter of the 2018/2023 business plan of the Milan-based group launched last year and related to the reverse merger into Compagnia Italiana di Navigazione.

In the first nine months of the current year the company controlled by Vincenzo Onorato and headed by his sons Achille and Alessandro sold four ro-pax vessels:

• AURELIA and HARTMUTT PUSCHMANN before the summer.
• MOBY AKI and MOBY WONDER next autumn.

In the 2018/2023 business plan was written that Moby would sell five unidentified ro-pax ships generating EUR 305 million revenues and roughly EUR 145 million of capital gains.
Two smaller and older vessels were set for dismissal in 2019, further two modern units in 2019 and the last two ferries respectively in 2020 and 2021.

For the next few years Moby was expected to charter-in some modern and higher capacity ro-pax units (most of them from Onorato Armatori), to be deployed on the routes linking Italy mainland to Sardinia and Sicily.
Two units built in Flensburg have already been delivered and further two units will be built in China by Guangzhou Shipyard International with delivery scheduled from 2021 onwards.

New Amsterdam-Newcastle Ferries To Create More Value For Passengers And Freight Customers

DFDS has entered into an agreement with Moby to acquire the two ro-pax ferries MOBY WONDER and MOBY AKI, for the purpose of raising the customer experience and the capacity for both passengers and freight customers on the Amsterdam-Newcastle route. The ferries are built in 2001 and 2005, respectively.

Moby will in turn acquire the two passenger ferries currently operating on Amsterdam-Newcastle — KING SEAWAYS and PRINCESS SEAWAYS, built in 1987 and 1986, respectively.

“The new ferries are ideally suited for our Amsterdam-Newcastle route. Their modern onboard facilities and higher car-deck capacity will allow us to grow revenue by fulfilling the growing demand from high-yield car passengers. To freight customers, we will be able to offer increased capacity that can remain constant throughout the year”, says Peder Gellert Pedersen, EVP and Head of DFDS’ Ferry Division.

The agreement is expected to be completed in the second half of October 2019. DFDS will subsequently bareboat-charter King Seaways and Princess Seaways from Moby until January and February 2020, respectively.

Meanwhile, the acquired ferries from Moby will be refurbished to suit the Amsterdam-Newcastle route. This includes commercial and technical investments on board as well as port investments. The refurbished ferries are expected to be deployed on Amsterdam-Newcastle during the first quarter of 2020.

The freight capacity will increase around 40% on a full-year basis. The car capacity will increase around 5% on a full-year basis supported by a cabin configuration that is well suited to the requirements of holiday-makers travelling by car.

In 2018, Amsterdam-Newcastle carried more than 600,000 passengers, 122,000 passenger vehicles and 350,000 lane metres of freight.

The capacity increase will provide an opportunity to accommodate further growth in trade and travel, including a large tourism flow, between UK and Continental Europe.

Renewal supports WIN23 strategy and ambitions
In June 2019, DFDS launched the WIN23 strategy driven by four strategic pillars. The renewal of Amsterdam-Newcastle is a key part of the fourth pillar: Creating more value for passengers.

“I’m very pleased to already be able tick off an important milestone of our WIN23 strategy. We now have a strong set-up to continue to grow the route”, says Torben Carlsen, CEO of DFDS.

Revised outlook 2019

The expected completion in October 2019 of the sale of the two ferries is estimated to entail an accounting profit of around DKK 100m to be recognised under Special items in Q4 2019. The full-year outlook for Special items is thus increased to
DKK 70m from previously DKK -30m.

The investment in the renewal, including proceeds from the sale of Princess Seaways and King Seaways, is expected to amount to around DKK 1.0bn of which DKK 650m is expected to be paid in 2019. The remaining DKK 350m is expected to be paid in 2020. The investment includes a substantial investment in refurbishment.

The investment outlook for 2019 is therefore changed to around DKK 3.4bn from previously DKK 2.8bn.

(Press release DFDS)

MOBY WONDER  

• Built 2001 by Daewoo
• LOA 174m
• GT 36,093
• Pax 1880 (1190 in cabins)
• Lane metres 1950
• Cars 665

MOBY AKI

• Built 2005 by Fincantieri
• LOA 175m
• GT 36,400
• Pax 2080
• Lane metres 1950
• Cars 710

PRINCESS SEAWAYS

• Built 1986 by Schichau Seebeckwerft
• LOA 161m
• GT 31,356
• Pax 1700 (1320 in cabins)
• Lane metres 1400
• Cars 550

KING SEAWAYS

• Built 1987 by Schichau Seebeckwerft
• LOA 161m
• GT 31,395
• Pax 2280 (1686 in cabins)
• Lane metres 1250
• Cars 550