The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) put a very interesting document online: the annual overview of marine casualties and incidents.
Trasmediterránea is only one of the companies belonging to the well-performing Acciona Group. In its 9M report, Acciona says that the Trasmediterránea EBITDA fell to €40 million, due to an increase in fuel costs derived from higher oil prices. The revenues were rather flat, with -2%.
In the period from January till September more passengers (+1.3%), more freight (+2.9%) and more cars (+5.6%) have been transported.
Recently Acciona reached an agreement to sell its 92.7% stake in Trasmediterranea to the Naviera Armas Group, something which is planned for 2018, Q1.
High VAT harms competitiveness of Greek coastal shipping
Greek online media Ekathimerini writes that, when comparing Greece with other EU countries, the VAT rate on ferry tickets is one of the highest. The article is based on a study titled “The Contribution of Passenger Shipping to the Greek Economy” which has been published by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE). The authors believe that the reduction of VAT on ferry tickets would give the Greek islands an economic boost without provoking a negative fiscal impact.
Photo © Mike Louagie
British Ports Association’s CEO, Richard Ballantyne, urged the UK Government and the EU to find a creative and sensible Brexit solution to the challenges facing ferry ports and operators in the logistics sector.
Mr Ballantyne was speaking at the British Ports Association’s Annual Conference in Poole (October 17-20) where Brexit would be a key topic on the agenda.
He said that, “Whatever the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, it is vital that freight and passengers continue to pass smoothly through our ports.”
Mr Ballantyne also looks at the positive side of a post Brexit era: “A number of UK ports are looking at opportunities such as new trade, and initiatives like free trade zones.”
Photo © Mike Louagie
Following the previous two profitable years, ANEK Group maintained its profitability and displayed important improvement of its net results in the first semester of 2017.
With 7% more crossings, ANEK saw in the first half of the year an increase of all categories: passengers 356,000 (339,000), cars 62,000 (56,000) and trucks 70,000 (67,000).
The ferries operate on the Adriatic, Crete, Dodecanese and Cyclades.
The average price of fuel was 50% higher, resulting in a higher operating cost and an EBITDA with a loss. However, lower financial cost, financial income and positive investment results, lead to the improvement of net results and the enhancement of the Group’s equity.
- Turnover: 65.3 million (65.0 million)
- Consolidated gross results: 0.4 million (11.2 million)
- EBITDA: -6.3 million (4.9 million)
Photo ©Mike Louagie
The UK Chamber of Shipping has welcomed proposals from the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) for customs arrangements that could be implemented after the Brexit.
Proposals include a ‘highly streamlined’ customs arrangement with the EU, and a transitional period. Guy Platten, CEO of UK Chamber of Shipping, considers the paper to be a significant step forward in providing reassurance to British and European businesses, and the shipowners that facilitate their trade.
Wasaline, operating the ro-pax ferry WASA EXPRESS between Vaasa (Finland) and Umeå (Sweden), published its positive half-year results for January-June.
Passengers +10.5% (81,473 passengers)
Freight +21.9 % (14,3528 lane meter)
Wasaline is a brand owned by shipping company NLC Ferry Ab Oy.
Viking Line Group’s half-year report shows an increase of volumes in both passenger and freight segments.
However, the consolidated income deteriorated mainly as a result of higher operating expenses. Bunker expenses increased by a staggering 23.3%.
The launch of the high-speed vessel VIKING FSTR on Helsinki-Tallinn did not quite generate the income expected. She serves the route from April 10 till October 22.
As in previous summers, during the period July 1 – August 6 the vessels GABRIELLA and MARIELLA made a day cruise to Tallinn instead of remaining in the port of Helsinki during the day, adding much needed car capacity.
