GALICIA almost ready for delivery – take a sneak peek on board

To be officially delivered in about two weeks' time: GALICIA. © CMI Jinling Weihai Shipyard

Ahead of the official acceptance of the E-Flexer Class GALICIA by Stena RoRo, CMI Jinling Weihai Shipyard held a ‘delivery ceremony’ on 20 August. The official delivery is expected in about two weeks’ time.

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FRS diversifies into Elbe River ferries

Flensburg-based FRS is expanding into River Elbe ferry operations. © Marko Stampehl

FRS takes over Elbfähre Glückstadt-Wischhafen, which runs a car ferry service across the River Elbe. The route, which transported 610,000 cars (passenger figures are not reported) in 2019, is run with four ferries built between 1959 and 1988.

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Fincantieri floats out MSC Cruises’ first Seaside Evo Class ship

MSC SEASHORE float out © Fincantieri

MSC SEASHORE has been floated out at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone Shipyard. Due for delivery in July 2021, MSC SEASHORE is the first of two cruise ships in the new Seaside Evo Cass, which, at 339m, will become the longest cruise ships in the company’s fleet.

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ForSea makes 70 employees redundant

AURORA AF HELSINGBORG © Marko Stampehl

The COVID-19 crisis has also affected the Helsingborg-Helsingør ferry service and operator ForSea is now making 70 of its 500 employees redundant.

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Stena Line charters SEATRUCK PANORAMA for Belfast-Liverpool-Heysham service

Seatruck's P Class SEATRUCK PANORAMA is expected to start operating for Stena Line on 2 September. © Clipper Group

After first having reduced freight capacity on the Birkenhead (Liverpool)-Belfast route following the withdrawal of the 3,000-lanemetre STENA FORECASTER, Stena Line is now adding capacity again on two of its Belfast routes on the back of increased freight demand.

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Brittany Ferries forced to lay up ro-pax tonnage again

BRETAGNE is one of two Brittany Ferries ro-pax ferries to be laid up again soon. © Maritime Photographic

The self-quarantine imposed by the British government on travellers returning from France is forcing Brittany Ferries, the Western Channel ferry operator that is heavily dependent on passenger revenues, to lay up tonnage again as the French company sees bookings and forward demand plummet. Christophe Mathieu, the company’s CEO, has meanwhile said that without financial aid, reciprocal quarantine plans for Brits entering France could bring Brittany Ferries to its knees.

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Jinling Shipyard floats out fourth GG5G for Grimaldi Lines

Grimaldi Lines' fourth GG5G mega ro-ro was floated out on 17 August. © Jinling Shipyard

Grimaldi Lines’ fourth GG5G Class mega ro-ro ferry was floated out from Jinling Yizheng’s building dock on 17 August. The first vessel in the 12-ship series, the ECO VALENCIA, is now expected to be handed over to the Italian ro-ro and ferry giant at the end of September.

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Unity Line and Polferries create joint venture

It remains to be seen if the Polskie Promy JV will also lead to a merger of Polferries' and Unity Line's ferry activities. © Kai Ortel

Polish Steamship Company (PZM)-controlled Unity Line and Polish Baltic Shipping Company (PZB), trading as Polferries, have announced their intention to form a joint venture that is primarily aimed at securing financing for a new generation of ro-pax ferries. The future partners have applied for clearance from the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (Urzedu Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów - UOKiK).

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CMHI launches OCEAN EXPLORER

OCEAN EXPLORER is the fourth Infinity Class expedition cruise ship under construction in China for SunStone Ships. © Ulstein Group

China Merchants Heavy Industry’s (CMHI) shipyard in Haimen launched the fourth of SunStone Ships’ Infinity Class of expedition cruise vessels, OCEAN EXPLORER, on 12 August. When delivered in 2021, the 7,400gt vessel will operate on charter for US-based Vantage Cruise Line.

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Did Greek interests buy HAL’s VEENDAM?

Only time will tell whether or not Iliopoulos also bought VEENDAM. © Neven Jerkovic

Last month, Holland America Line said four of its ships would be disposed of. The R Class ROTTERDAM and AMSTERDAM were purchased en bloc by Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines whilst the buyers of the S Class MAASDAM and VEENDAM remained unknown.

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Baleària’s SICILIA returns to service after her LNG retrofit

SICILIA is the fourth ship in the Baleària fleet that underwent an LNG retrofit. Two more will follow. © Baleària

Baleària’s 2002-built Visentini Class SICILIA arrived in the port of Barcelona on 14 August to resume service on the Barcelona-Ibiza service following her successful conversion to LNG propulsion at Portugal’s West Sea Viana Shipyard.

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Norled takes delivery of SOLAVÅGEN

SOLAVÅGEN will join sister ship FESTØYA on the busy Festøya-Solavågen service. The latter vessel was delivered in late June. © Remontowa Shipbuilding

SOLAVÅGEN, the second of four diesel-electric hybrid LMG 120-DEH Class vessels built by Remontowa Shipbuilding, has been handed over to Norled.

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Finance

COVID-19 impacts BC Ferries’ Q1 results

Canadian West Coast ferry operator BC Ferries has released its Q1 results for the three months ended 30 June 2020. As could be expected, the COVID-19 crisis had a significant impact on first quarter results with net losses for the first quarter of fiscal 2021 amounting CAD 62 million, compared to net earnings of CAD 12.2 million for the same quarter of the previous year.

New route contracts guaranteed a growth for Fjord1

As per Fjord1’s Q2 results, the Norwegian domestic ferry operator is reaping the fruits of contracts to run new ferry services that started on 1 January 2020. Revenue ended at NOK 751 million (+9%), with EBITDA at NOK 245 million (+9%).

Sharp Q2 decline for Viking Line

Viking Line has released its Q2 results which were, unsurprisingly, heavily affected by COVID-19. Sales ended at EUR 22.6 million (EUR 131.1 million), with operating income at EUR -5.9 million (EUR +5.4 million).

Press Releases

These press release news are published “as is”, i.e. this is how we get it from the senders. If you want to have your relevant news published, please send it to news@shippax.se

Austal USA enters agreement to purchase additional land, buildings, and dry dock in Mobile, Alabama

Further to its recent announcement regarding the expansion of its Mobile, Alabama facilities to build steel ships, Austal Limited (ASX:ASB) is pleased to announce the execution of a conditional agreement to purchase additional waterside land and facilities in Mobile, Alabama. 

NEW BOARD APPOINTMENTS British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.

BC Ferries Services announces that the B.C. Ferry Authority has appointed Eric Denhoff, Shona Moore Q.C. and Michael Pucci to the British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. Board of Directors, effective August 14, 2020, bringing the size of the board to 12 members.

Seabourn Adds Enhanced Web Content Targeting Charters, Incentive, Meeting & Group Travelers

Seabourn, the ultra-luxury cruise line, is making it easier for prospective charter, incentive, meeting & group travel clients to understand why a Seabourn ship may be the perfect choice for their next gathering. The brand recently added a substantial amount of information to its website dedicated to this niche segment of the travel industry.

Carnival Corporation & plc Announces Closing of 9.875% Second-Priority Senior Secured Notes due 2027

Carnival Corporation & plc announced that Carnival Corporation (the "Corporation") has closed its private offering of $900 million aggregate principal amount of 9.875% Second-Priority Senior Secured Notes due 2027 (the "Secured Notes"). The Corporation expects to use the net proceeds from the offering of the Secured Notes for general corporate purposes.

Ferry Operator & Passengers are Moved by the Wind

Passengers aboard the Scandlines ferry, the COPENHAGEN have been getting a little extra experience for their standard ticket price as people start to emerge from lockdown and start to stretch their legs and commence travelling again. The EU Green Deal aims to lower pollution and carbon levels across Europe and the experience of taking a ferry in part powered by the wind is something quite out of the ordinary, but hopefully not for much longer.

Four more Norled ferries equipped with SCHOTTEL EcoPellers

FESTØYA, the first of a total of four SCHOTTEL-equipped hybrid ferries for Norwegian ferry operator Norled, has recently entered operation. Each of the four double-ended RoPax ferries built at the Remontowa shipyard in Poland features two SCHOTTEL EcoPellers type SRE 340. These are powered by an innovative diesel-electric hybrid system, and operated by green battery power during transit.

ClassNK grants AIP to “K” Line and Airseas for their Seawing kite system

Classification Society ClassNK has granted an Approval in Principle (AIP) based on its “Guidelines for Wind-Assisted Propulsion Systems for Ships” and related regulations to Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” LINE) and AIRSEAS SAS for their automated kite system “Seawing”.

Brittany Ferries urges French government to drop reciprocal quarantine plans

French ferry firm Brittany Ferries says it is lobbying French government at the highest levels to avoid the implementation of reciprocal quarantine measures. In a normal year the company carries about 2.6 million customers, of which 85 percent are British. Any move that might dissuade more Brits to cancel their travel plans would hurt Brittany Ferries and the regions it serves, particularly the tourism sector in Brittany and Normandy.

Tallink will start to operate two return trips per week on the Tallinn-Stockholm route from September

Tallink will start to operate on the Tallinn-Stockholm route with two vessels from September and will provide two return trips between the two cities per week. The company announced already in early August that it would reopen the Tallinn-Stockholm route from 26 August with one return trip per week.

GLEN SANNOX’s bulbous bow replaced

Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Ltd has hailed the removal and replacement of GLEN SANNOX’s bulbous bow another key milestone in progressing the first of two dual fuel vessels towards completion.

Carnival Corporation & plc Announces Pricing of $900 Million Second-Priority Senior Secured Notes due 2027

Carnival Corporation & plc announced that Carnival Corporation (the "Corporation") has priced the private offering of $900 million aggregate principal amount of 9.875% second-priority senior secured notes due 2027 of the Corporation (the "Notes"). The offering of the Notes is expected to close on August 18, 2020, subject to customary closing conditions.