Color Line has agreed to purchase the ro-ro ship FINNCARRIER and plans to put the ship on the Oslo-Kiel route in January 2019. The establishment of a separate ro-ro offer represents a new area of activity for Color Line, and is part of the company’s growth ambitions from a Norwegian point of view, says CEO Trond Kleivdal. FINNCARRIER is currently operating on the Finnlines network (Hull-Helsinki).
From January to November, 543,000 ro-ro-units were handled in the port of Gothenburg, compared to 535,000 in 2016 in total. It is clear that 2017 will be the third straight year with increased ro-ro-volumes in the port of Gothenburg.
In Gothenburg, ro-ro traffic is the domain of the shipping companies CLdN, DFDS, Stena Line and SOL.
Photo: Port of Gothenburg
The Danish company sold the high-speed ferry to an unidentified buyer in the Mediterranean. She was used as reserve vessel on Ystad-Bornholm.
The sale will become effective after August 31.
Faergen already sold ro-pax vessels POVL ANKER and HAMMERODDE, and fast ferries LEONORA CHRISTINA, and leased them back until the end of the public service contract.
LEONORA CHRISTINA will go to Fred. Olsen SA, to serve the Canary Islands.
HAMMERODDE has been sold to Stena Ro-Ro and POVL ANKER to Mols Linien.
Photo: ©Mike Louagie
The first parts of the mega-block of the new DFDS 6,700 lane meter ro-ros are now visible in the building dock in Jinling, says DFDS. Until March the construction will be done in a temporary position because of another vessel. Once this vessel is launched, the mega-block will then be relocated to the correct position in the dock and the rest of the vessel erected.
DFDS has ordered four large ro-ro ships to service freight customers across the North Sea from 2019 and 2020.
Although Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) did not send an official press release yet, we read in the local media that the yard has secured an order for an extra two ro-ro ships.
The ships are the 5th and 6th unit of 4K lane meter ships to be ordered by FSG’s parent company Siem Group, with the intention to put them on the charter market.
The regional State of Schleswig-Holstein is still involved in the shipbuilding with bank guarantees, after the yard went into a difficult period.
With the orders of Irish Ferries (1 ro-pax), Brittany Ferries (1 ro-pax) and Siem (six ro-ro ships, 2 for DFDS, 2 for EKOL and 2 unknown) the yard can continue to build upon its reputation of ferry and ro-ro specialist.
Eckerö Group’s published its half-year results. The company operates two ro-pax ferries, one vessel for short cruises, and charters out two ro-ro ships.
The number of passengers decreased 1% but freight increased significantly with 22%. However, a weaker SEK value had a negative impact on earnings, and bunker prices have increased.
Eckerö’s operating profit for H1 was EUR 0.7 million (EUR 5.3 Million 2016 H1). Much is expected from H2.
