FERRY, CRUISE, RO-RO AND HIGH-SPEED INFORMATION FOR PROFESSIONALS NOVEMBER 2024 • NO. 11 SHIPPAX INFO 59 YEARS 1965-2024 #VANLIFE – A GROWING PASSENGER NICHE AU REVOIR BRETAGNE MARKET CONSOLIDATION OF THE FERRY INDUSTRY CASE STUDY: ALBANIA MARKET REVIEW PROFILE: NORDIC FERRY INFRASTRUCTURE QUICK Q&AS: ERIC GRÉGOIRE, SCANDLINES FERRY ON ORDERDAMPA ® Marine Ceiling Systems Sail Towards Sustainability With Full Design Freedom Set sail with DAMPA – where eco-conscious choices, vibrant design freedom, and fire-rated protection await you. Choose sustainability with DAMPA’s 75% post-consumer aluminum with low GWP-value. Each installation supports a greener tomorrow, leaving a reduced ecological footprint while still upholding impeccable quality and style. Crafted for corridors, accommodation, public areas, and crew havens, our ceilings seamlessly blend Danish design with acoustics, indoor comfort and safety. Dare to dream onboard. www.dampa.com | dampa@dampa.dk DK-5690 Tommerup | +45 6376 1300NOVEMBER 24 · SHIPPAXINFO 1 www.shippax.com travel plan, again. On this occasion, he opted to fly to another destination for his short break — a revenue loss not only for the ferry company, but also for the port city’s retail and hospitality sectors. While one applauds the precautions taken to protect the cyber integrity, one wonders if they have considered the possible repercus- sions in the forms of antagonising potential customers and losses for the business. These days, most ports and ferry compa- nies strive to promote seamless travel, yet there are such invisible and dilatory barriers in cyberspace where most ferry tickets are sold, travel plans formulated. Seamlessness must be extended to the online booking process. The ferry industry must remember that its customers are no longer bound by geography, nor will they, for example, toler- ate this kind of barriers when planning an idyllic island break. The editorial team In an era when cyber security is a serious concern for the transport industry at large, one would expect ferry companies and ports to take reasonable measures to protect themselves from attacks. But have they en- visaged the inconvenience these measures may cause the customers and how harmful they can be to their businesses? Recently, from his home in Asia, a Shippax correspondent attempted to book a domestic weekend ferry crossing to an island in the UK, travelling with his recreational vehicle, only to find that he was blocked from ac- cessing the ferry company’s website. He was told by the company concern that this was because he was located in a country from which access was denied for security rea- sons. This immediately triggered a change of service provider, a loss of revenue for the cash-strapped ferry operator. A similar episode unfolded a few days later: a port in northern Spain denied our correspondent from accessing its website because he was in Hong Kong, a global financial powerhouse that was an appar- ent cyber threat to a parochial Iberian port. This forced our correspondent to change his CYBER BARRIERS SHIPPAXINFO Published by Shippax AB Box 7067 SE - 300 07 HALMSTAD Sweden Tel: +46 35 218370 info@shippax.se www.shippax.com Visiting address Horngatan 4 SE - 302 33 HALMSTAD Sweden Publisher Elizabeth Mandersson elizabeth@shippax.se Editor-in-chief Victor Mandersson victor@shippax.se Advertising advertising@shippax.se Statistics statistics@shippax.se Subscriptions and Accounts subscription@shippax.se Photographers Frank Behling Christian Costa George Giannakis Søren Lund Hviid Marc Ottini Contributing correspondents Australia Dale Crisp Canada Aaron Saunders Croatia Neven Jerkovic Finland Eero Mäkinen France Nikias Ioannidis Bruno Jonathan Germany Frank Behling Frederik Erdmann Kai Ortel Greece David Glass Italy Angelo Scorza Japan Tsuyoshi Ishiyama Norway Magne A. Røe Poland Peter B. 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ISSN 2002-9063 © SHIPPAXINFO2 SHIPPAXINFO · NOVEMBER 24 www.shippax.com Editorial Cyber barriers 1 Inside story #VanLife – a growing passenger niche for the ferry industry 4 Au revoir BRETAGNE - Brittany Ferries’ first cruise ferry 8 Market consolidation benefits the giants of the ferry industry 12 Midships News 17 Statistics 42 Projects and conversions 46 Fleet changes 48 On order: Ferry 48 Case study Albania market review 52 Profile NFI: counterpoint for local ferry infrastructure across the nordics 58 Quick Q&As Eric Grégoire 62 Column Johan Roos - Interferry 64 CONTENTS COVER PHOTO RICHARD SEVILLE 58 4 12 62 52 8 64“Since we started working with Hogia in 2020, we have valued the great partnership and collaboration they have brought to Irish Ferries along with a deep understanding of our business, allowing us to successfully launch Bookit for our passenger division in 2021.” Seamus Mc Carville – Head of IT HOGIA FERRY SYSTEMS FIN-65100 Vaasa, Finland info@hogia.fi | www.hogiaferrysystems.com4 SHIPPAXINFO · NOVEMBER 24 www.shippax.com #VANLIFE – A GROWING PASSENGER NICHE FOR THE FERRY INDUSTRY According to data from the European Caravan Federation (ECF - the lobby group supporting caravaning in Europe), the number of leisure vehicles in Europe surpasses 6.5 million units in 2023. Leisure vehicles or recreational vehicles include caravans, campers, vans, and motorhomes. Caravaning has proved a very dynamic market during the last five years, with several factors driving its growth. 2020 heralded retirement age for a large group of individuals born be- tween 1955 and 1960 when the birth rate in Europe was very high. This generation has now time to travel and money to spend. COVID-lockdowns also translated into a need for freedom and nature once mobility restrictions were lifted. The concept of living in nature and moving freely following wind and sun is a real trend nowadays among Europeans. TEXT: NIKIAS IOANNIDIS PHOTO: NIKIAS IOANNIDISYourDeckhand.6 SHIPPAXINFO · NOVEMBER 24 www.shippax.com Younger generations associate vans with discovery and outdoor activities such as surfing, kitesurfing, etc. Social networks have been full of content promoting this way of living. Remote working, home- working, and the rise of the so-called digital nomad are highly attractive propositions to younger individuals who maybe suffered the most from pandemic restrictions. Leisure vehicles have always been an important passenger niche for the ferry industry. But this niche is now growing to such an extent that it starts to become a specific audience to address for ferry operators. This happens at a time when conventional passengers are rather step- ping off ferries and opting for budget airlines for longer-distance trips. manufacturer. They released sales of EUR 3.9 billion on 26 September, increas- ing by 12.8% from 2022 to 2023. Back in 2010, Trigano sales were “just” EUR 698 million. It notably controls Adria, one of Europe's best-selling motorhome brands. Pilote Groupe: A French-based group that posted sales of EUR 468 million in 2023, up 89% on 2018 figures, which stood at EUR 247 million. It controls famous brands like Pilote and Bavaria. Erwin Hymer Group: This German group posted sales of EUR 3.36 billion for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Erwin Hymer has been part of Thor Industries since 2019. Thor Industries is a US conglomerate that generated sales above USD 10 billion last And maybe the most interesting fact to the ferry industry is that it both allows to grow loyalty among retired customers as well as attracts a new generation of much younger customers onboard. Few companies lead a growing industry Recreational vehicle manufacturers are represented by their own lobby, the Caravanning Industry Association (CIVD), which has 208 members. Some of these recreational vehicle manufacturers have grown to big organi- sations with sales exceeding the billion- euro mark. Trigano: This French company is a European leading recreational vehicle NOVEMBER 24 · SHIPPAXINFO 7 www.shippax.com year. Erwin Hymer group controls famous brands like Hymer and Dethleffs. Commenting on its annual perfor- mance, Trigano Group said that: “In a demographic and lifestyle context that is buoyant for leisure vehicles, the European motorhome market saw registrations rise by more than 10% over the twelve months to the end of August 2024. The trend is particularly favourable for traditional motorhomes, which are outperforming in most countries. The large number of visitors at the first autumn shows confirms this interest on the part of European consumers.” Product categories Recreational vehicles are split into several categories depending on whether they have a motor or not. Caravans are no longer driving the market up. It is rather the motor homes and all their sub-catego- ries that do. Motor homes are split into at least five main categories: • Compact van • Van • Low profile motorhome • Overcab motorhome • A-class motorhome The bigger they are, the longer people can vacation onboard. Instagram has made minimalist com- pact Van's highly popular, surfing on the attractivity of the boho outdoor way of living. Boomers are seeking more comfort and rather opt for larger motorhomes. Made to explore Recreational vehicles are made to explore. They perfectly fit destinations with low hotel availability, where tourism is syno- nymous with road trips. Scotland, Ireland, the Great Atlantic Way, Iceland, Norway, the westernmost areas in France, North- ern Spain, and mountain areas undoubt- edly tick all the boxes. Renting vs. owning The pricetag of recreational vehicles made the short-term renting model very popular too. It allows non-frequent users to enjoy the model without bearing the cost of ownership. This is attractive to families or younger people who cannot enjoy a motorhome outside their vacations. It also allows you to fly and drive. They fly to their destination, rent, and drive. Ownership of recreational vehicles is rather interesting when owners can vaca- tion for longer periods, which typically addresses the retirees. Recreational vehicles go in pairs with ferries Driving long distances to the abovemen- tioned areas and countries requires ferries at some point. It may even require several ferry crossings, which makes recreational vehicle users a great target audience for ferry operators. High purchase power individuals Recreational vehicle users, and more spe- cifically, owners, are high-purchase power individuals. The price of these vehicles is high, with new units ranging from EUR 70,000 to well above EUR 150,000 depend- ing on the size and options of each vehicle. Owners are wealthy enough to travel regularly and may be a good target to buy extra services from ferry operators: duty- free, restaurants, premium cabins, fast check-in, etc. A tool for targeting a younger audience While retirees are well aware of ferry services since they started traveling a long time before bullet trains ever existed or before mass air traffic picked up helped by budget airline fares, it has proven to be an issue for the ferry operators to target younger travellers, typically the people under 40. To this specific audience, fer- ries are nearly invisible. According to Instagram, #VanLife has been tagged more than 17.3 million times. The popularity of this way of travelling among the younger generation must be identified as a one-of-a-kind opportunity to convert them to regular ferry travelers by the ferry industry. Operational challenges Recreational vehicles are not just an opportunity for ferry operators. Flows of recreational vehicles are indeed seasonal, which may generate bottlenecks. On top of that, ferry operators must consider specific dimensions of recreational vehi- cles. Most of them are nearly three metre high, some even taller. As a result, and albeit they are not commercial vehicles or freight units, they may have to be loaded on freight decks, potentially affecting the freight capacity on few sailings when loads of recreational vehicles are sailing. Best yet to come for ferry operators? Impressive figures and commercial data published by manufacturers are show- ing the trend for recreational vehicles is strong and seems to be here to stay. Already some cities are tackling the flows of recreational vehicles, arguing that the phenomenon is simply too much. Some cities in France have even forbidden vans and motorhomes to stay overnight within city limits in a move to fight wild parking. While the use of motorhomes is getting under scrutiny in the largest Western European countries, it could gradually push users to move further north or west in order to reach areas where local au- thorities have no reason to set any limit to this phenomenon. This would be another incentive for using ferries to low-density countries such as Iceland, Ireland, Norway. n PHOTO: RICHARD SEVILLENext >