Norway’s Bold Environmental Decisions Catalyst For Change

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Norway has taken the audacious decision to ban all polluting ships from the UNESCO World Heritage fjords. The resolution will impact the cruise and ferry industry heavily, way beyond these fjords.

Polluting ships? You might be thinking of a 50-year old veteran ferry. In fact even a modern LNG-powered ship will no longer be welcome in famous fjords as the Geirangerfjord or the Nærøyfjord. In the near future, these fjords will only be accessible for ships producing zero emissions. ZERO!
When? Latest 2026, and if feasible before.

The only zero-emission energy so far is electricity. Either a ship is fully relying on batteries, or a ship is hybrid. In that case fossil fuel could be used outside, and once in these protected fjords, the energy source would be electricity.

For the global cruise industry Norway’s decision is quite a blow. There are no electric cruise ships. Especially the Geirangerfjord will be hit hard. Last year, 181 cruise calls were registered. That is excluding the daily calls of the Hurtigruten ships.
But let’s be honest, anyone who has been in Geiranger can only but agree: cruise ship smoke is an issue.

Cruise ship in Geiranger

FERRY FINANCE

By | 2018 Newsletter Week 19 | No Comments

DFDS Q1 Review: Strong Logistics Performance In Q1                                   

“Both growth and earnings were ahead of expectations in Q1 and our full-year growth expectation is now raised to 4% and to 10% including U.N. Ro-Ro. European growth is robust and continues to support our ferry routes and logistics activities. Our continuous improvement projects are on track and will also contribute to earnings this year,” says Niels Smedegaard, CEO.

Some highlights:

  • Revenue growth of 9%, adjusted
  • Passenger volumes up 14% boosted by Easter
  • Ferry freight volumes up 3% despite negative impact from Easter and a collision
  • Profit before special items and tax up 18%

Outlook 2018

  • Revenue growth increased to 4% from 2%, excl. U.N. Ro-Ro
  • EBITDA range of DKK 3,000-3,200m, incl. U.N. Ro-Ro
  • Investments of DKK 5.2bn, incl. U.N. Ro-Ro

Click on the image to start the download of the report.

Port Of Tallinn Announces Its Intention To List On Tallinn Stock Exchange

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Port of Tallink (Aktsiaselts Tallinna Sadam) announced its intention to proceed with an initial public offering and a listing of its Shares on the Baltic Main List of the Nasdaq Tallinn Stock Exchange.

The purpose of the Offering is to offer to investors approximately one third of the Company.

With the Offering, the Republic of Estonia, currently the Company’s sole shareholder intends to:

  • Increase flexibility, transparency and efficiency of the Company and to establish the Company’s market value
  • Facilitate the implementation of the Company’s strategic objectives
  • Provide domestic investment opportunities for Estonian private investors and pension funds
  • Increase liquidity and attractiveness of the Tallinn Stock Exchange by attracting international investors.

Long Term Commitment From DFDS To Port Of Ghent

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DFDS has signed a long-term sub-concession agreement and partnership with the Port of Ghent’s Mercatordock concessionaire, the Belgian group Sea-Invest. In this way, DFDS ensures it will continue operating and managing its own terminal. The Mercatordock is where DFDS handles the Ghent – Gothenburg/Brevik RoRo route, together with container barge connections to deep sea ports of Antwerp, Rotterdam and Zeebrugge.

Photo: North Sea Port

Gondan Delivered The Second GRP Ecofast Ferry To Baleària

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Astilleros Gondán delivered the second GRP ecofast ferry, EcoLUX, to Baleària shipping. The first one was delivered last December. The 28m, 350-seat, 28-knots vessel has been designed to ensure comfort, speed and reliability. Solar panels supply the necessary energy for onboard services. The four catamarans are designed to be able to operate in the different short distance trips that the shipping company makes in the Balearic Islands.

Photo: Stena Line

Start Of New Airbus Traffic From France To USA

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Thursday May 3 saw the start of a new ro-ro connection between Montoir (Saint-Nazaire, France) and Mobile (Alabama, USA). Ro-ro SPIRIT OF MONTOIR left the French terminal with three complete Airbus planes (A320/321). They will be assembled in Alabama.So far, the port has been specialised in short-sea ro-ro traffic to Germany, the UK, the Spanish peninsular and the Med.The vessel is the FRIJSENBORG, built by Visentini, owned by Nordana / Weco RoRo and chartered for three years by Louis Dreyfus Seaplanes.

BC Ferries Working With Communities On Future Vision For Swartz Bay Terminal

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“Your input is important to us and will help shape our future plans,” is the message that BC Ferries launched on May 1.
The Canadian company is embarking on an engagement process from now until the end of summer 2018 to gather community input that will shape future plans for Swartz Bay terminal.
BC Ferries would like to hear from customers and nearby residents as a new long-term vision for the terminal is being developed.