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Latest Ferry NewsThe latest ferry news for April 2008 is below:
Plan to move Solent ferry portDate: 17 Apr 2008Source: Daily Echo Multi-million pound plans have been unveiled to move ferry services out of a Hampshire waterway and create a major new cross-Solent terminal, the Daily Echo can reveal. The far-reaching proposals would see Wightlink's Lymington River operation entirely relocated to a stretch of coastline at nearby Pennington Marshes. Dubbed "Port Pennington", the move would provide a shorter crossing to the Isle of Wight and could be combined with a programme of improvements to sea defences along the marshland foreshore. It is believed the terminal would be able to accommodate three larger ferries being introduced by Wightlink. The controversial new boats are currently the cause of a bitter dispute between the company and Lymington river users over water displacement and erosion in the area. Wightlink bosses have vowed to launch an outline feasibility study and say they can "see the merit" in operating from a site closer to the island. If it goes ahead, road access would be from the A337, cutting out lengthy delays at Lymington's level crossing and toll bridge. Concept designer Derf Paton - a member of Lymington River Association - says public access to the port would be via an historic part-built railway at the end of Lower Pennington Lane. The terminal would be built at Pennington sewer outfall where there is already a concrete boom built in the Solent. Train passengers arriving in Lymington would be able to transfer to the port using a bus service or smaller ferry link. Wightlink chief executive Andrew Willson urged caution but told the Daily Echo a study would be undertaken to see if the move was a viable option. He said: "We are aware of the proposals and we would not wish to dismiss it without proper consideration. There is clearly merit in operating there from the perspective of the shortness of the crossing to the Isle of Wight." Portsmouth plans for a new passenger terminalDate: 14 Apr 2008Source: Portsmouth.co.uk Portsmouth Ferry Port has started the process of developing a new terminal building. With trade growing through the port, bosses have decided it is time to upgrade the existing building that went up in 1976 and design a new one. The first step has been to appoint Halcrow Group as a master planner to review its current passenger and freight facilities and to develop the plans for a new modern terminal to enhance the port's services. The port said this would also meet anticipated passenger growth through to 2040. Ferry port manager Phil Gadd said: 'A new terminal and the new services it will offer to our customers are essential to meet anticipated growth in the coming years. 'The master plan will enable us to ensure minimal disruption to our existing customers and our local environment throughout the design and build process.' Halcrow is looking at the whole layout of the port in order to decide where a new terminal building should go before presenting this to staff and port customers such as Brittany Ferries and LD Lines prior to any designs of a new terminal building. Construction will not start until the end of next year and would probably be funded by the city council, costing several millions. The port is handling growing traffic both on the freight side and on the passenger side. LD Lines is renting a second vessel for the Le Havre route and Gefco is importing thousands of new Citroen cars through the port. Overall port manager Martin Putman said any port needed a terminal, and this was a one in 30-year opportunity to redesign the traffic layout of the ferry port. He added: 'The terminal was temporary but was done extremely well. 'The outside of the terminal is dated by anyone's standards. The inside still gives a reasonable level of comfort for foot passengers, but it's time to move on and the city council fully supports that.' Rachel Fowler, master planner at Halcrow, said: 'The key to this development is keeping the whole port operational while the new terminal is built, which is quite a challenge. 'That is why there is so much preparation and research to be done before the design and construction of the new terminal commences.' Wightlink rolls out £57m fleet upgrade programmeDate: 9 Apr 2008Source: Lloyds List UK FERRY operator Wightlink is investing £57m ($113m) in improving its fleet of conventional and fast ferries, and terminal facilities, in a major company makeover. The company, owned by Australia-based Macquarie Group’s Macquarie Europe Infrastructure Fund, already has three 360-passenger, 65-car-capacity ferries under construction at the Croatian shipbuilder Brod Kraljevica for its Lymington-Yarmouth service and has just ordered two 30-knot, 260-passenger catamarans from the Philippines yard of FBMA Marine for its Portsmouth Harbour-Ryde service. At the same time, major improvements are to be made to the company’s five Saint-class passenger/vehicle ferries, which run between Portsmouth and Fishbourne. Wightlink chief executive Andrew Wilson said the investment will “completely transform” the quality of the service that Wightlink can offer its customers. “It will ensure that we have the capacity and flexibility vital to deliver an efficient, reliable service, provide better facilities and offer all-round value,” he said Some £26m is being invested in three new ferries for the Lymington-Yarmouth service, replacing the three ageing C-class vessels on the run — Caedmon, Cenred and Cenwulf — as well as improving the link-spans at both ports. The first two new vessels, Wight Light and Wight Sky, will enter service this summer, followed by Wight Sun in spring 2009. Meanwhile, £9m is being invested in improving Wightlink’s fast ferry service between Portsmouth Harbour and Ryde Pier. This service has been plagued by problems in recent years due to operational and technical problems with the passenger-only catamarans used on this link, the Australian-built sisters Our Lady Pamela and Our Lady Patricia and the two Singapore-built twins FastCat Ryde and FastCat Shanklin. Two new 40.9 m catamarans have been ordered for this route, which Wightlink said are of a “more robust new generation, better able to cope with the punishing weather conditions in the Solent”, while improvements will also be made to the terminals at Portsmouth Harbour and Ryde Pier Head. Wightlink’s busiest route, the passenger/vehicle ferry run between Portsmouth and Fishbourne, will see a further £17.5m spent on upgrading the five Saint-class ferries St Catherine, St Cecilia, St Clare, St Faith and St Helen, as well as carrying out terminal improvements at Fishbourne. A further £4m is set to be spent on retail improvements and website and IT upgrades. To book ferry tickets to the Isle of Wight, please visit our Ferries to the Isle of Wight page. LD Lines doubles capacity on channel linkDate: 7 Apr 2008Source: Lloyds List LD Lines is doubling its capacity on the Portsmouth to Le Havre route from November this year with a new Visentini-built ship capable of carrying up to 800 passengers and 120 lorries, writes Sandra Speares. The vessel will have 107 four-berth cabins, 200 places for cars and 2,300 lane metres of trailer space, with a top speed of 24 knots. Norman Voyager will join Norman Spirit on the route. While current sailings between Portsmouth and Le Havre are overnight, the new ship will be used for daytime sailings. “With the demand for the Portsmouth Le Havre route being so high, it made sense to put this new ship on to the route,” said LD Lines chief executive Pierre Gehanne. “We’re really pleased with the way things are working at Portsmouth port, and the connections it offers both to the rest of the UK and to Europe are excellent.” For more information on LD Lines, please visit our LD Lines page. SNCM seafarers take-over SeaFrance ferryDate: 5 Apr 2008Source: Lloydslist French Channel ferry operator SeaFrance said yesterday evening that it had started legal proceedings to bring to an end an occupation of its newly acquired car ferry, the SeaFrance Moliere, by seafarers from its Mediterranean counterpart SNCM. The vessel, which was owned until April 1 by SNCM’s parent, Veolia Transport, was due to leave Marseilles for a refit yesterday afternoon but SeaFrance said that it was still under occupation by SNCM seafarers, who took it over on Wedesday. The SNCM seafarers are pressing for a renewal of their own company’s fleet and for the inclusion of the company in planned sea motorway projects. SeaFrance said that it expected a court decision this morning on its application for the liberation of the ship. The SeaFrance Moliere (ex-Jean Nicoli, ex-Superfast X) was acquired by Veolia to back SNCM’s bid for the public service transport concession for services between Marseilles and the island of Corsica. SNCM finally dropped its lone bid and teamed up with its original partner Compagnie Meridionale de Navigation to win the Corsica ferry concession and Veolia put the ship back up for sale as being surplus to its requirements. SeaFrance acquires third modern ferryDate: 1 Apr 2008Source: Travel Mole SeaFrance is completing a six-year fleet renewal programme with a newly-named ferry. SeaFrance Molière, with a capacity for 1,200 passengers and a car deck capable of carrying 660 cars or 110 trucks, has been acquired from French ferry company SNCM. It is due to enter service this summer as the company replaces SeaFrance Manet and the SeaFrance Renoir to double the volume of services offered on the Dover-Calais route. Molière completes a fleet renewal programme, which started in 2002 with the arrival of the SeaFrance Rodin and subsequently the SeaFrance Berlioz. The newly acquired vessel will offer double decks to aid fast loading and embarkation. The increased economy from a modern large vessel, coupled with monitored speed sailings, will enable SeaFrance to offer a greater environmental performance, the company claimed. Managing director Robin Wilkins said: “We are looking forward to welcoming our third new generation ferry, the SeaFrance Molière, to our fleet and believe that she will be greatly appreciated by our customers, being of similar size and quality to the SeaFrance Berlioz and the SeaFrance Rodin.” To book a SeaFrance ferry ticket, please visit our SeaFrance page. |
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