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Latest Ferry NewsThe latest ferry news for October 2007 is below:
FRS mulls increased Gibraltar - Tangier serviceDate: 22 Oct 2007Source: Lloyds List Tarifa based ferry operator FRS Iberia is exploring plans to increase the frequency of its service between Gibraltar and the Moroccan port of Tangier. The service has been operated on a weekly basis for some time, but company officials believe there may be scope for daily sailings. Their rationale hinges on the increase in flights at Gibraltar airport, particularly to the Spanish capital. The idea is to target tourist traffic from the Spanish hinterland — and from the UK — and use Gibraltar as a stepping stone to north Africa. “We are working to develop the commercial plan to capture traffic from these areas,” says FRS managing director Luis Mora. “We are looking to see if it’s viable.” The company already offers all-in packages to Moroccan destinations from Spanish ports and similar trips could be run from here. It has been looking at ways to boost its Gibraltar schedule for some time. But the results of an initial trial earlier this year were less than heartening. FRS operated daily services during two weeks at the start of summer and passenger figures were disappointing. Changes in the schedules of airlines operating between Gibraltar and Madrid may further dampen the ferry company’s plans. GB Airways has pulled its daily round-trip service to Madrid for the winter, although it will revisit its plans for the route next year. Spanish carrier Iberia, the only other airline operating between the Rock and the Spanish capital, has also scaled back its service. FRS Iberia, which remains committed to the project, has met with Joe Holliday, Gibraltar’s tourism and transport minister, to discuss options relating to the daily service. The context for these discussions is the major investment in tourism and trade infrastructure in progress in northern Morocco. The development of northern Morocco is attracting substantial foreign investment and Gibraltar has explored possible opportunities for joint initiatives. Earlier this year, key executives from the Tangier Mediterranean Special Agency visited Gibraltar to brief local businesses on various projects under way on the other side of the Strait. Ferry firms scrap harbour plansDate: 22 Oct 2007Source: bbc.co.uk Ferry companies Stena Line and P&O have abandoned plans for a new multi-million pounds shared terminal in south west Scotland to serve Irish Sea routes. Escalating costs have been blamed for the decision to pull the plug on the new joint facilities at Cairnryan. Stena had planned to move its base about six miles up Loch Ryan from Stranraer to Cairnryan where rivals P&O already operate. The move was intended to allow the redevelopment of Stranraer seafront. Shared port Stena and P&O have been talking about the shared re-development of Cairnryan Port for more than four years. The joint venture was given the go-ahead earlier this year by a harbour empowerment order. Plans were well advanced with work due to start soon and the new terminal scheduled for opening in 2009. A statement from the two companies said it was "simply no longer economically viable" to proceed with the shared port facilities for Irish Sea services. The greater impact is on Stena who had sought to move from outdated facilities at Stranraer to cut the journey time of sailings to Belfast and reduce fuel costs. Route director Alan Gordon said they would now review their options which include staying at Stranraer or going it alone with the development of a new terminal further up Loch Ryan. P&O spokesman Terry Cairns said it was business as usual for them. The decision has consequences for ambitions plans by Scottish Enterprise Dumfries and Galloway and the local council to re-develop the waterfront area of Stranraer when the ferries had gone. Galloway and Upper Nithsdale MSP Alex Fergusson said a lot of hard work had "effectively been wasted". Mr Fergusson said it was vital to ensure that Stena Line remained in Dumfries and Galloway as its presence was "vitally important". I will be seeking urgent discussions with the management of Stena to explore the company's future intentions," he said. He added that he would do everything possible to ensure the firm remained part of the region's transport infrastructure. "An awful lot of hard work, consultation and compromise has now effectively been wasted," he said. "The important thing now is to ensure Stena's future in Loch Ryan as part of the Euroroute to Northern Ireland." South of Scotland SNP MSP Alasdair Morgan voiced concern at the wider impact of the decision. "Clearly this announcement is very disappointing, not least because of the potential impact that it will have on plans for the regeneration of Stranraer waterfront," he said. "It is very much to be hoped that those parts of the scheme which are not dependent on the Stena move can still go ahead." 'Potentially devastating' Dumfries and Galloway MP Russell Brown said the project was vital for the area. "It's absolutely essential that all the partners work together to seek to ensure Stena does retain its ferry port on Loch Ryan and that it relocates up the loch," he said. "If this does not happen the implications are potentially devastating. "Many local jobs could be jeopardised and the whole regeneration project for Stranraer and the surrounding area could be under threat." Irish Ferries win two top British travel awardsDate: 18 Oct 2007Source: Irish Post Irish Ferries has won two top British travel awards for their sea services between Ireland and Britain. Against competition from companies operating on the North Sea, the English Channel and Irish Sea routes, Irish Ferries was voted winner of the Ferry Operator of the Year award sponsored by leading British travel trade publication, Travel Trade Gazette. The award was decided by a panel of 37 industry experts. Their second award, Best Ferry Company on the Irish Sea, was presented by the World Travel Awards organisation, whose awards were hailed by the Wall Street Journal as the travel industry’s equivalent to the Oscars. A ten-times winner of Ireland’s Best Ferry Company award, this is the first occasion on which Irish Ferries have been presented with travel awards in Britain. Irish Ferries marketing director Tony Kelly said: “Besides being a tribute to our staff and crew, our success in winning these awards provides independent verification of the improved levels of service and passenger care which customers can now expect when travelling on our services.” The Rugby World Cup is only a ferry trip away...Date: 15 Oct 2007Source: Directferries.co.uk England are through to the Final of the Rugby World Cup and you could be there to soak up the atmosphere and get behind the team by taking the ferry and heading to the stadium in Paris. Interested? Check out our Rugby World Cup guide to find the best options to get there by ferry. If you need help finding the best available crossing then you may also call us on 0871 222 3312 up to 9pm. Sailors protest against bigger ferry plansDate: 15 Oct 2007Source: dailyecho.co.uk Sailors against Wightlink Ferries bringing larger vessels into the town's waterways. During the start of the Lymington Town Sailing Club's first Sunday racing event a small craft was spotted on the water carrying the banner: No Bigger Ferries. The protest by the Wednesday Junior Sailing club is aimed at Wightlink who sponsor the weekly racing event and who are currently proposing to replace their present vessels which sail between Lymington and the Isle of Wight with bigger ferries. "We are not against ferries coming between Lymington and Yarmouth but the river is already full and we just can't fit in the bigger ferries they are proposing," said Mike Mayhew who helped organise the protest. The award-winning project is known for its work with sailors who go on to represent Britain in the Olympics and say they will be forced to close if the new ferries are allowed into the river. Mr Mayhew said that not only do hundreds of children benefit from the scheme, which uses a training area designated by the Royal Yachting Association, but scores of disabled youngsters also use the project. "We have around 70 disabled children a week and they get a huge benefit from the Junior Sailing Club along with some great life skills," he said. The controversial plans by Wightlink have angered sailors and environmentalists in Lymington and the ferry crossing company has said if it is unsuccessful in its bid to bring in the larger craft it would pull services from Yarmouth out of Lymington all together, resulting in the loss of 200 jobs. Concerns from the sailing community include the size of the vessels, the wash generated on the river and the increase in large vehicles travelling through Lymington. As previously reported in the Daily Echo Wightlink's chief executive, Andrew Willson, told New Forest West MP Desmond Swayne that the current ferries are 34 years old and nearing the end of their useful lives. "Without the introduction of the new ferries the route would inevitably have to be closed down, which would have a detrimental affect on the economies of Lymington and Yarmouth," it said. The letter said the loss of ferries would be disastrous for the travelling public, and addressed some concerns by stating any larger wash from the new ferries could be overcome by reducing speed. Mr Swayne said: "We've got to find a way of making sure that the community wins and that might take a bit of give and take on both sides." A public meeting to discuss the plans is planned for October 31 at 7.30pm in the Lymington Community Centre. DFDS scoops top travel awardDate: 15 Oct 2007Source: easier.com Cruise ferry operator DFDS Seaways has sailed away with a prestigious award from the travel industry’s annual ‘Oscars.’ The Copenhagen-based firm was named Europe’s Leading North Sea Ferry Operator 2007 in the European Section of the prestigious annual World Travel Awards. Now in their fourteenth year, the World Travel Awards were conceived to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence in the world's travel and tourism industry. The award winners are voted for by travel industry professionals from 167,000 travel agencies, tour & transport companies and tourism organisations in over 160 countries across the globe. The presentation event, which was held this year at the Marriott Hotel Gosforth Park and hosted by top impressionist Jon Culshaw, attracted more than 300 travel industry leaders from 19 countries, with other well-known award winners included Lufthansa, Europcar and Swiss International Airlines. DFDS Seaways runs several routes across the North Sea – Newcastle to Amsterdam in Holland, Newcastle to Stavanger and Bergen in Norway and Harwich to Esbjerg in Denmark. John Crummie, UK Managing Director for DFDS Seaways, says: “This is a fantastic achievement for us, and is a real endorsement of the high quality of service and experience that we provide for our guests across all our North Sea routes. “To be judged by our industry peers as being ‘best in class’ is a tremendous honour, and recognition must go to our employees, both ashore and onboard, who have made the award possible with their service ethic “The challenge for DFDS Seaways is now to keep improving and to raise the bar even higher, so that we set new standards and give our customers an even better onboard experience.” Freight Ferry prices and Schedules now online!Date: 11 Oct 2007Source: Freightferries.com Fed up with 9 – 5 Monday to Friday quotes? Not anymore. You can now book 100’s of freight ferry routes online at our new freight ferry website – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We haven’t just made it easier to get a quote for your freight ferry crossing, prices have also been slashed and we believe that we now offer the most competitive freight pricing on all routes throughout Europe with a second to none service. For information or to make a booking, please either visit wwww.FreightFerries.com or call 0871 222 3315. Calls to back return of Swansea Cork FerryDate: 9 Oct 2007Source: thisissouthwales.co.uk Tourism leaders in Swansea are being urged to help bring back the Cork ferry.They are being urged to write letters supporting the reintroduction of the service to help persuade money men to back the scheme. Swansea-Cork Ferries pulled the plug on its service last year, selling off its MV Superferry, which is now operating in the Aegean. In three years, the ferry took 285,250 people and 108,000 cars from Swansea to Cork. Since that stopped, Cork has suffered a 30 per cent drop in tourism trade. Captain Michael McCarthy, commercial manager of the Port of Cork, said he was hopeful a replacement would be found within weeks. "We are working with Swansea-Cork Ferries, but also other operators interested in the route." Captain McCarthy added he had spoken to potential operating firms. "They have identified a suitable vessel and now need letters of support to assure the financial institutions." |
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