As of 13 January 2024, RoPax SICILIA will be added and will serve alongside RoPax MARIE CURIE.
The connection goes from two to three weekly trips from each port, both for cargo and passenger transport.
The service will have departures from Tenerife and Gran Canaria on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Meanwhile, from Huelva these routes will be made on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Karin Orsel has been appointed the first female President ever in the history of ECSA, starting on 1 January 2024 for a two-year term, with Mikki Koskinen joining as the new Vice-President. She succeeds Philippos Philis, who has held the position since January 2022.
Baleària and Fred. Olsen Express added chartered roro vessel CADENA 4 to the service between Huelva and the Canary Islands.
The former COLOR CARRIER left Huelva for the first time on Sunday morning 22 January 2023.
This service is added to the two departures that ropax MARIE CURIE already makes.
More freight on the roro frees up space for passengers on the ropax.
The joint venture transported 43,500 passengers in 2022, 44% more than last year.
Source: Baleària press release in Spanish and own sources
+25% passengers compared to 2021 (3 million+)
+15% passenger and cargo vehicles (1 million in total)
+30% trips (in total 19,500)
17% of the passengers (500,000+) were non-residents, which reflects the recovery of foreign tourism on trips between islands.
Fred. Olsen Express will restore the inland route of La Gomera on Friday, July 1, after a long stand still because of the pandemic.
The shipping company will have two departures between the three ports of San Sebastián, Playa Santiago and Valle Gran Rey, operated by the BENCHI EXPRESS catamaran (photo).
During the last two months the ship has been active on the Fuerteventura-Lanzarote route.
With the return of BENCHI EXPRESS to La Gomera, the company will incorporate a new vessel, named BUGANVILLA EXPRESS, to maintain the service between Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.
Ponte Ferries: New Competitor on Malta-Sicily
A new fast ferry service between Malta and Sicily will be introduced next summer with the former Fred. Olsen Express catamaran BONANZA EXPRESS, renamed HSC ARTEMIS.
The new joint venture will be a competitor to the existing operator, Virtu Ferries.
Ponte Ferries will operate a catamaran between Grand Harbour, Valletta, and Augusta, Sicily.
Ponte Ferries is a joint venture between Magro Brothers Investments Ltd and Merill Invest Ltd, owned by entrepreneurs brothers Michael and Julian Zammit Tabona (Captain Morgan), and businessmen Mario Muscat and Fabio Muscat.
Photo: Ponte Ferries
Fred. Olsen Express officially announced the sale of its Incat-built BONANZA EXPRESS (1999).
Fred. Olsen Express’ fleet manager, Juan Ignacio Liaño, said in a Spanish release that the vessel has been sold to a European operator. After a refit it will go to Malta, mid-December.
This milestone is part of the continuous commitment made by the shipping company to improve the fleet. This year it incorporated the new BAJAMAR EXPRESS trimaran.
BAÑADEROS EXPRESS is scheduled for the summer of 2021.
Last minute news / to be confirmed: rumour has it that the new owner and ferry operator could be Ponte Ferries Ltd., a company registered in Malta on 20 October 2020.
Austal Australia has delivered Hull 394, BAJAMAR EXPRESS, to Fred. Olsen Express at a ceremony held at the Company’s shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia.
The 118 metre high-speed trimaran ferry is the first of two identical vessels ordered by Fred. Olsen Express in a EUR 126 million contract in October 2017.
The second vessel, Bañaderos Express (Austal Hull 395), is under construction at Austal Philippines shipyard in Balamban, Cebu, and is scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2021.
Austal Chief Operating Officer Patrick Gregg and Master Captain Cristobal Amador of Fred. Olsen Express, signing the handover documentation for BAJAMAR EXPRESS on 7 July 2020. (image: Austal)
First Of Two 118 Metre Trimarans For Fred. Olsen Express Completes Sea Trials In Australia
BAJAMAR EXPRESS, the first of two Austal Auto Express 118 trimarans under construction for Fred. Olsen Express of the Canary Islands has completed its sea trials in Western Australia.
“Over the past weeks, BAJAMAR EXPRESS has achieved an average speed of 37.6 knots at 85% MCR, carrying 80% from maximum deadweight; confirming the vessel’s outstanding capability to achieve high-speed performance, while delivering optimum comfort for passengers and crew,” says Austal in a press release.
Capable of transporting 1,100 passengers and 276 cars at a cruising speed of over 37 knots, the new ferries for Fred. Olsen Express feature class-leading interior amenities and facilities, including multiple bars, kiosks, a retail shop and children’s play area and will operate on Fred. Olsen Express’ Santa Cruz, Teneriffe and Agaete, Gran Canaria routes in the Canary Islands from the 3rd quarter of 2020.
Fred Olsen Express and Baleària celebrate one year on the route between the Canary Islands and Huelva with the incorporation, on November 17, of LNG-powered RoPax MARIE CURIE. This Visentini-built ferry was delivered last July.
During the first year of the joint venture, 155 crossings have been performed, increasing the links between the Canary Islands and the Peninsula by 73%.