Scandlines New Year’s reception in Kiel: Emission-free ferry operations begin in 2024

By | 2024 Newsletter week 09 | No Comments

From left to right: Managing Director of Scandlines Deutschland GmbH Heiko Kähler, President of the State Parliament Kristina Herbst, State Secretary Tobias von der Heide, CEO Scandlines Michael Guldmann Petersen, Ingo Gädechens MdB.

Photo: Marc Benkmann/Scandlines


Scandlines’ traditional New Year’s reception took place in Kiel in the presence of Schleswig-Holstein’s State Secretary for Transport, Tobias von der Heide.

Scandlines’ management highlighted the first fully battery-electric ferry and further plans for the electrification of the Puttgarden-Rødby route.

  • The electric ferry Futura is set to commence operations in 2024, operating entirely on electricity.
  • Initially, Futura will be charged with electricity only in Rødby, with plans to expand charging to Puttgarden by 2025.
  • The next phase involves converting the other ferries on the Vogelfluglinie to 80% battery operation before transitioning to entirely electric operation with zero direct emissions by 2030, with two of the four ferries on the Puttgarden-Rødby route making the switch by 2025.
  • Challenges related to fluctuating electricity prices in Germany are noted, with Scandlines hoping for support from German politics.
  • Digital solutions are being implemented to enhance the customer experience during booking, at ports, and on board.
  • While the freight segment experienced slight declines in 2023, Scandlines anticipates growth in the latter half of 2024.

Brittany Ferries welcomes move to allow French school groups to travel to UK on ID cards, rather than passports

By | 2023 Newsletter week 50 | No Comments

James Cleverly UK home office minister announced the changes in a statement to the House on 7th December 2023. Passports will no longer be a requirement for travel: French students under 18 years of age will be able to come to the UK on an ID card.

In 2023 Brittany Ferries carried just 41,061 French children on school trips – a fall of 55 per cent following the introduction of new post-Brexit border controls in 2021 (in 2019 91,764 were carried).

Scandlines orders new onshore charging solution from NES

By | 2023 Newsletter week 50 | No Comments

Scandlines has contracted Norwegian Electric Systems AS (NES) to deliver an onshore charging system to the ferry operator’s berth in Puttgarden, Germany. In April 2022, NES already signed a contract to deliver the shore power solution in Rødby on the Danish side of the route.

“With a battery pack of ten megawatt-hours, equivalent to the combined capacity of about 150 electric cars, the ferry’s battery capacity will be among the world’s largest on a ship. Rapid charging is essential for the ferry while it is unloading vehicles and should take about 12 minutes. Imagine charging 150 electric vehicles with one charger in 12 minutes only. While fast charging a car is one thing, handling this amount of energy is quite another matter,” says Jan Klokk, VP Sales at NES.

Scandlines to electrify two ferries for the Fehmarn Belt link

By | 2023 Newsletter week 50 | No Comments

In recent years, Scandlines has cemented its position as a green frontrunner with a wide range of initiatives, including the new FUTURA ferry. Now the plan is to electrify two ferries on the Fehmarn Belt.

Scandlines is investing in the following:

  • Large energy storage system on board both ferries
  • Charging facilities on board
  • Solar panels on board both ferries

The total investment in electrification of the Fehmarn ferries amounts to EUR 31 million. The German Ministry of Transport has awarded the project financial support as part of a funding programme covering sustainable modernisation of coastal vessels to reduce emissions, covering up to 40 percent of the conversion costs.

Scandlines expects to sign a contract on the conversion in early 2024. Subject to the final delivery time of equipment, the ferries will be converted in the beginning of 2024 till 2025.

Launching of Scandlines’ new zero direct emissions ferry FUTURA

By | 2023 Newsletter week 48 | No Comments

25 November 2023, Scandlines’ new zero direct emissions freight ferry was traditionally launched from the Turkish Cemre Shipyard.

The ferry will be named FUTURA at a naming ceremony in connection with its deployment on the Fehmarn Belt in 2024.

With 10MWh, FUTURA will have the world’s largest lithium-ion battery bank to date. (to compare: luxury icebreaker LE COMMANDANT CHARCOT has 4.5MWh in total)

Scandlines CEO Carsten Nørland emphasises that Scandlines definitely plans to keep on sailing for many, many years to come, also after the opening of the Fehmarn Belt fixed link.

Scandlines’ new zero direct emissions ferry approaching launching

By | 2023 Newsletter week 37 | No Comments

At the Cemre shipyard and at the ferry terminals in Puttgarden and Rødby, everything is currently being prepared for the deployment of Scandlines’ new zero direct emissions freight ferry.

“PR24” will be launched in Q4.

The ferry terminals in Puttgarden and Rødby must also be prepared. Scandlines is currently installing a new and stronger ramp to the upper car deck in ferry Berth 3 in Rødby, as the PR24 will be transporting lorries on both the upper and lower deck. At present, a large crane is removing the current 59m ramp to the upper car deck.

When the ferry starts operating on the Fehmarn Belt in 2024, the world’s largest battery system of 10 MWh can be charged in just 17 minutes in Rødby. With green power, of course.

In 2019, Scandlines invested in a 50 kV / 25 MW power cable to Rødbyhavn. This cable has now been extended approximately 1.2 kilometres to the new transformer between ferry Berth 2 and 3. The supplier NES (Norwegian Electric Systems) is expected to begin the installation of the transformer, control and switchgear equipment and charging station for the new ferry in the autumn.

Now Scandlines is investing in a 30 kV / 15 MW power cable including transformer and charging station for the port of Puttgarden. As of 2025, this will reduce the charging time to just 12 minutes in each port and allow the ferry to cover the 18.5 km between Puttgarden and Rødby in 45 minutes with zero direct emissions.

Scandlines generated higher revenue and results after car and shopping traffic rebounded in 2022

By | 2023 Newsletter week 26 | No Comments

 Scandlines continued to make headway in 2022 as the impact of COVID-19 eased and travel restrictions were lifted early in the year.

Traffic volume grew significantly driven by a rebound in leisure and shopping traffic as well as continued strong traction in the freight business.

Against this backdrop, Scandlines increased revenue (+42%) and earnings (+101%) and continued to improve its competitive offering with long-term investments in fleet and facilities.

+65% Cars

+68% Pax

+5% Freight

+49% Revenue from BorderShops (even though shopping activity remained significantly lower than before the outbreak of COVID-19. Factors such as increased fuel prices, general inflation pressure and a weak SEK play here a role here).

Outlook

Modest growth is expected in leisure and shopping traffic volumes, which are seen to be somewhat impacted by a general economic slowdown.

Bus travel is expected to gradually return to previous levels.

The steadily growing freight traffic volume is expected to continue the positive trajectory – however at a modest level.

Management expects revenue and profits to increase moderately in 2023 subject to the level of economic slowdown.

The full annual report and the sustainability report for Scandlines Infrastructure ApS can be downloaded here.

Geopolitical and macroeconomic context weighs heavy on quarterly Port of Antwerp-Bruges figures – Status quo for roro

By | 2023 Newsletter week 16 | No Comments
  • The total throughput of Port of Antwerp-Bruges amounted to 68.7 million metric tonnes in the first quarter, a drop of 4.5% compared with the same period last year.
  • This decline is due to the still complex geopolitical and macroeconomic context, which has led to a decline in the container segment and significant shifts in cargo flows.
  • Roro traffic is maintaining the status quo, but within the new-car segment there is a resurgence. The first quarter of 2023, saw 904,901 new cars shipped in and out, up 7.2% from 2022. Throughput of all transport equipment has grown by 4.3%, while unaccompanied cargo (excluding containers) is showing a decrease (-2.4%.) The share of these volumes related to the United Kingdom fell by 5.6% in the first quarter, while traffic to and from Ireland increased by 14.2%.

Spring reception by Scandlines in Berlin: Consumers are attaching more and more importance to climate-friendly travel

By | 2023 Newsletter week 16 | No Comments

On April 19, 2023, Scandlines held a reception in the German capital. CEO Carsten Nørland and other company representatives welcomed around 60 guests from politics, business and the public in the Käfer roof garden restaurant in the Bundestag.

The central topic of the evening was the “Green Agenda” of the German-Danish company. Scandlines has been investing heavily in environmentally friendly technologies for more than a decade, most recently in rotor sails on the Rostock-Gedser route and center propellers weighing tons to optimize fuel consumption. With the construction of the first zero-emission ferry for the Scandlines fleet and the planned electrification of the Puttgarden-Rødby route, the shipping company is now setting the next milestones on the way to the future.

Guest speaker Dieter Janecek, Federal Government Coordinator for Maritime Business and Tourism, emphasized in particular the changed demands of travelers for whom climate and species protection are becoming increasingly important.

CEO Carsten Nørland also responded to the wishes of Scandlines passengers and noted an increase in travel traffic going north: “In 2022, more and more passengers from Germany decided to travel north for shorter and longer stays. I hope that in the future we can convince even more people that you don’t have to fly halfway around the world to have a great short break or a great summer holiday.”

Photo: Jochen Zick/Scandlines

Scandlines’ new zero direct emission freight ferry is taking shape.

By | 2023 Newsletter week 1 | No Comments

Two-thirds of the steel plates for PR24 have now been cut at the Cemre shipyard in Turkey, and the ferry currently consists of eight sections which have already been placed on the bedding. Another 16 sections are under construction.

In close cooperation with the Scandlines site team, the yard is developing a 3D model of the ferry. The model enables users to digitally move around the ferry while simultaneously ensuring that construction drawings and the 3D model are continuously being updated with correct and revised information as the construction of the ferry progresses.

Swiss battery manufacturer Leclanché has started producing the record-breaking battery bank for the new ferry. With a capacity of 10 MWh it will be the largest lithium-ion battery installation on a ferry to date.

When the ferry starts operating on the Fehmarn Belt in 2024, it can charge in just 17 minutes in Rødby. With green power, of course.