Messina-based Caronte&Tourist group charters ro-pax GALAXY for four months.
She will soon be deployed by subsidiary Siremar.
This 1979-built ferry is owned by A-Ships Management.
Ferrando & Massone of Genoa were the shipbrokers.
GALAXY is expected to enter service from February on the maritime link with Sicily and will replace some of the company’s ships soon to be stopped for maintenance works.
Turkish shipbuilder Sefine launched NEREA, the new ferry ordered by Siremar (company part of Caronte & Tourist group) in Q1, 2021.
This new 8,300 GT ropax, entirely financed by Caronte & Tourist, is part of a wider fleet renovation plan. Another sister ship of the ELIO series has been commissioned for the Strait of Messina and further two to three vessels are likely to be ordered in the near future for the shortsea routes to Sicily.
NEREA is being built according to a design from Naos Design and will be ready for delivery before the next summer season.
Dimensions: 110m long, 20m wide, 800 passengers, 420 lane metres
Route: port of Milazzo – Aeolian Islands
Propulsion: Dual-fuel LNG hybrid
The ferry company BluNavy has just welcomed in its fleet the ropax unit ANTONELLO DA MESSINA chartered in from Siremar (jointly controlled by Caronte & Tourist and Liberty Lines).
After some tests the ship started covering the Piombino – Porto Ferraio route offering 4 roundtrips per day and operates ‘in combination’ with the ferry VESTA.
ANTONELLO DA MESSINA has been chartered to replace the ferry ACCIARELLO which is expected to be refitted.
740 pax | 70 cars | 16 knots speed | 71m | Built 1989 Shipyard Nuovi Cantieri Apuania
Photo: Mattia Montanelli
In the occasion of the presentation held in Messina of the new ferry Elio delivered to from Sefine shipyard, the chairman of the company,
Vincenzo Franza, chairman of Caronte&Tourist, announced that two more vessels will be ordered soon. He announced it during an event in Messina, where the Sefine-built ELIO was presented. The two new ferries are needed for the routes from Sicily to Lampedusa and Pantelleria. Both those maritime links are covered by Siremar, the ferry company jointly controlled by Caronte&Tourist and Liberty Lines.
“The projects are ready and we also have the funds” said Franza.
Negotiation were ongoing in the recent past with several shipyards in China, Portugal, Poland, Turkey and Italy, with Fincantieri.
The project has been developed by Naos Design.
This new series of ro-pax units should have 1,000 passenger capacity, up to 170 cabins and 650 lane meters plus 60 cars of space in the garage. Propulsion might be dual-fuel LNG, repeating the choice made for the new ferry ELIO.
