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Latest Ferry NewsThe latest ferry news for September 2005 is below:
LD Lines Portsmouth Le Havre open for BusinessDate: 30 Sep 2005Source: LD Lines Louis Dreyfus (LD) Lines in partnership with 2morrow Group and the Port of Portsmouth have announced a new ferry service between Portsmouth and Le Havre starting on October 3rd 2005. The LD Lines service will provide a no-frills, value for money service incorporating demand driven pricing rather than the over complex duration model currently used by ferry operators. This simplified transparent pricing policy will be similar to that used successfully by low cost airlines. The daily service will depart from Portsmouth at 2300 arriving the following morning in Le Havre at 0730. It will then leave from Le Havre at 1700 arriving back in Portsmouth at 2130. The vessel operating the route is the Norman Spirit, a modern Ro-Pax ferry built in 1992, which will initially be configured to carry a combination of freight vehicles, cars, caravans, motorhomes, motorcycles and 900 passengers. The onboard accommodation consists of many economy and club class reclining seats, as well as a limited number of quality 1, 2 and 4 berth cabins. For live availability, fares and bookings please visit our LD Lines page Four in bid to re-open ferry link between Argyll and Northern IrelandDate: 21 Sep 2005Source: The Scotsman EFFORTS to re-start a ferry link between Argyll and Northern Ireland took a significant step forward yesterday, with the announcement that four companies have been shortlisted to tender for the service. The Scottish Executive said that Harrisons (Clyde) Ltd, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, Serco Denholm and Western Ferries will be invited to tender for the Campbeltown-Ballycastle route. It is hoped the service will start next year but bidders will be able to decide the best starting date, if necessary in 2007. An unsubsidised summer-only service ran between 1997 and 1999 before being withdrawn after it suffered heavy losses. Efforts have been made to re-instate it, although when it went out to tender previously no bids were received despite the offer of a £1 million-a-year public subsidy for five years. The successful firm will receive the subsidy, the cost being split 70-30 per cent between Edinburgh and Belfast, to provide a passenger and vehicle service for 11 months a year. Tavish Scott, the transport minister, said: "We believe that a ferry operation can become a catalyst for economic benefit for the Kintyre peninsula." Calmac ferry service finally up for GrabsDate: 15 Sep 2005Source: The Scotsman ferry services operated by Caledonian MacBrayne will finally be put out to competitive tender after MSPs voted yesterday to comply with European laws forcing the move. The long-delayed procedure is now expected to start early next year, with the winning bidder running the west coast network by the end of 2007. Attempts by the SNP to have the issue considered by an expert task force were defeated in the Scottish Parliament, which backed Executive moves to go ahead with the tendering process by 63 votes to 53. Fergus Ewing, the SNP's transport spokesman, condemned the plans as flawed, but Tavish Scott, the transport minister, said he could not break the law. However, Mr Scott agreed to postpone the start of the process pending an Audit Scotland report into problems with the NorthLink tender for services to Orkney and Shetland, which is expected in December. The vote marks the end of a six-year battle by ministers to resist pressure from the European Commission to put CalMac services out to competition because they receive state funding. Yesterday's decision overturns a narrow Holyrood defeat for the Executive on the issue last December, which forced ministers to return to Brussels in an attempt to stave off tendering. However, ministers have won concessions which they claim will help protect the "lifeline" services to the Hebrides, such as routes being tendered as a package rather than individually. Yesterday's vote also clears the way for a separate competition for CalMac's Gourock-Dunoon route, which is expected to be launched shortly and completed early next year. The busy commuter service is being treated separately because it will not be subsidised as there is already competition on the route. LD Lines plans new Le Havre to Portsmouth ferry routeDate: 15 Sep 2005Source: Lloyds List LD Lines, shortsea subsidiary of France’s Louis Dreyfus Armateurs shipping group, is expected to confirm shortly that it will be launching a new ferry service between Le Havre and Portsmouth next month using the P&O vessel Pride of Aquitaine, writes Andrew Spurrier in Paris. The group, which launched a ro-pax service between the French Mediterranean port of Toulon and Civitavecchia in Italy at the start of this year, is reported to be in the process of acquiring the Pride of Aquitaine, which has, until recently, been operating between Calais and Dover. The 1992-built vessel, which has capacity for 1,500 passengers and 120 lorries, was operated by Belgium’s RMT before being chartered to P&O in 1998. It will replace the smaller Pride of Le Havre and Pride of Portsmouth,which are currently being operated on the route by P&O and which have capacity for 1,800 passengers and 80 lorries. LD Lines, which is understood to be close to an agreement on creation of the new line with the port of Le Havre, is expected to open it shortly after the closure of the existing P&O line, announced for the end of this month. It is not clear, however, if the French company will be able to bring the new service into operation in time to avoid a break in service for existing P&O customers. Its planned use of the Pride of Aquitaine appears to mark a break with its original plans to launch a ro-pax service along the lines of the one it operates between Toulon and Civitavecchia. Its declared objective was to offer a freight service with accommodation primarily for lorry drivers but also for a limited number of other passengers. According to local reports, LD Lines believes it can carry up to 1m passengers and 70,000 lorries on the basis of one round trip daily. The line is currently operating three round trips daily and carrying around 650,000 passengers and 55,000 lorries. Norse Merchant meets low-cost airlines head-on in Irish SeaDate: 14 Sep 2005Source: Lloyds List The ferry sector on the Irish Sea is fighting back to try and check the rise of the low-cost airlines. This is the message given to a Dublin freight and travel agent audience as it got sight of the first of two ferries designed to sustain powerful growth in Irish Sea surface volumes. Lagan Viking, the first of two 27,700 gt ro-pax ferries built at Cantieri Navali Visentini for Norse Merchant Ferries, achieves 23 knots, and has been bettering an eight-hour transit time on the Belfast-Birkenhead route since July. Although not servicing the republic’s needs directly, the introduction of two new ships allows the operator to transfer two 1997-built ships with more passenger and accompanied driver capacity from its northern route to Dublin-Birkenhead services. Norse Merchant managing director Derek Sloan told them: “There has been a lot of comment on the impact of low-cost airlines but, rather than being negative, we believe strongly that the ferry sector can and should fight back. “The overnight journey can be part of a holiday and, after a relaxed journey and a sleep, the traveller is ready for the onward journey. “Ferry passengers also save on airport hassles, taxis, hotels and car hire.” With 480 berths, Lagan Viking offers double the passenger capacity of the ship it is replacing. Mr Sloan said that Norse Merchant transported nearly 500,000 freight units in 2004, generating € 110m ($132m). It also carried 140,000 passengers between Belfast and Birkenhead, 15% up on 2003. The forecast for 2005 was for a further 16% growth in passenger numbers. “This is proof that the ferry market can fight back and suggests that the same success can be achieved on the Dublin/Liverpool route,” said Mr Sloan. Liverpool Viking (the former Lagan Viking ) has already moved to the Dublin service, while Mersey Viking will switch and be renamed Dublin Viking on the November delivery of the second Visentini ship, itself to be named Mersey Viking . Marine Minister Pat ‘the Cope’ Gallagher welcomed the ship’s visit be saying that Norse Merchant had grown its market share in the greater Dublin area by 24% over the last 18 months. “This type of investment is required to facilitate growth, where 2004 saw the ro-ro sector increase by 7% nationally,” he said. He said latest projections indicated that similar strong growth would be experienced on Irish Sea trades this year. Freight capacity across the Irish Sea is also being boosted as a result of the investment. With 860 lane metres of capacity, Lagan Viking and its sister ship offer space for 10 more freight units apiece per voyage, across 26 sailings per week against a previous 24. As well as boosting passenger numbers, the carrier is looking to develop driver accompanied freight through Belfast and Dublin. Both of the newbuilds are owned by Levantina Transporta and have been taken on an initial three-year charter by Norse Merchant, which holds an option to purchase at the end of the charter period. Mr Sloan, who is the former chief executive of Norfolkline, offered no further guidance on Norfolkline’s anticipated acquisition of Norse Merchant. In late June, the AP MØller subsidiary signed a letter of intent to acquire the operation from Wayzata Investment Partners, which rescued Norse Merchant after its 2003 administration. However, sources suggested that there was a high percentage chance that the deal would go through within a few months. Mr Sloan said he envisaged introducing similar newbuilds to Lagan Viking on the Dublin-Birkenhead route at a later date, while other company sources suggested that Norse Merchant also has plans to add capacity to dedicated freight routes connecting Dublin and Belfast to Heysham. However, long-term decision making is on hold until such time as takeover by Norfolkline goes through. Connex eyes control of ailing SNCMDate: 14 Sep 2005Source: Lloyds List French passenger transport specialist Connex is being tipped as a leading contender to take charge of ailing state-owned ferry operator, SNCM. The French government has so far declined to name the companies which have responded to its call for ferry operators ready to invest in cash-strapped SNCM but an industry source has indicated that Connex is front runner. No other names have emerged but union representatives confirmed that Connex was in the running and said that they understand that a Spanish company and two French banks are also involved in talks with the government about SNCM’s future. Connex, transport subsidiary of quoted Veolia Environment, has refused to say whether or not it has presented a bid for the Marseilles-based ferry company. A spokeswoman declined to respond without explanation. The company is best known as an operator of urban bus and train services but is present in the passenger shipping sector in Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and France. In April 2003, in Norway, it gained control of a public transport operator in the Finnmark region in the course of a privatisation operation, taking over a fleet of 100 buses and 11 ferries, of which seven were high-speed vessels and one was a cargo carrier. In Sweden last year, it took over Styrsöbolaget, which operates 12 ferries in the Göteborg area, while, in the Netherlands, its subsidiary BBA operates two passenger ferries on the Escaut between Vlissingen and Breskensz. In France, it operates passenger ferries on Lake Geneva for the city of Evian and between the Normandy coast and the Channel Islands. The Ministry of Transport said that it had received proposals, which it was still analysing. It was not prepared to say how many bids it had received but indicated that it would be presenting the best offers to the government at the end of this month. “Discussions are taking place with a view to identifying the best offer(s) with a view to presenting them at the end of the month,” a spokeswoman said in a written response. Union representatives at the company have indicated that they will be hostile to any attempt to privatise the company, with the job losses which they believe will be inevitable if the company moves into the private sector. They are concerned at reports that a major reduction in the company’s 2,500-strong workforce is being prepared. One union representative said that he had heard rumours that as many as 800 jobs could do. SNCM operates ferry services between the French mainland and the island of Corsica and between the French Mediterranean coast and North Africa. The French government announced in January that it was looking for an industrial operator to invest in the company after it ran up heavy losses last year under the effect of a drop in the number of passengers using its Corsican services and industrial action. It claimed that outside capital was necessary to save the company from bankruptcy. In April, it said that that it had had requests for information concerning SNCM from 12 parties, including seven shipping companies, although it is not known how many, if any, of these parties have proposed buying into the company. SNCM itself said that it had fared better than expected during the 2005 summer season, carrying 37,000 more passengers on its Corsican services than it had forecast with a total of 443,677 in July and August and indications were that the trend was continuing this month. The company said that the effects of its good performance had been partly undermined, however, by the increase in fuel costs caused by high oil prices. |
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