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Latest ferry news for October 2008
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Portsmouth - Santander open for bookings!
Date: 29 Oct 2008 Source: Directferries.co.ukThe new Brittany Ferries route sailing between Portsmouth and Santander is now available to be booked online.
The new weekly ferry service sailing from March 2009 will be operated by Brittany Ferries luxurious flagship, mv Pont-Aven with a sailing duration of around 24 hours.
For more information or to make a booking, please visit the following pages:
- Brittany Ferries
- Portsmouth Santander Ferry
- Ferries to Spain
Fjord Line in threat to quit Kristiansand in service row
Date: 21 Oct 2008 Source: Lloyds ListNorwegian ferry operator Fjord Line is threatening to pull out of the Port of Kristiansand in row about all-year operations, writes Craig Eason.
The port is demanding that all ferry operators maintain a service throughout the year to provide competitive freight services, as well as the profitable summer passenger and tourist service. The ferry operator, which competes with Color Lines’ two Superspeed vessels, says it cannot.
Port manager Stein Haartvedt defended the harbour’s policy. “This is a principle we have had for several decades. We also own the ferry terminal ourselves because we want to have competition, and our main goal is to have full control so we can secure fair competition all year round from each ferry company,” he said, adding that Fjord Line was aware of this.
Fjord Line operates two vessels from Norway to Denmark. A full-year service, with the 1993-built Bergensfjord, runs from Bergen and Stavanger to Denmark. The company also runs a high-speed catamaran, HSC Fjord Cat, during the summer from Kristiansand. Chief executive Invald Fardal told Lloyd’s List that HSC Fjord Cat is too small to handle the average wave height across the Skagerrak in the winter season, and that with reduced demand it cannot compete with Color Lines’ two new vessels, and thus operates for only five months of the year.
Fjord Line has been on the route for three years, but came under new ownership in January 2008. “We tested the market out between January and March this year with Bergensfjord, and the results were not very good,” Mr Fardal said. He added that the company is now looking at other ports in the region from which to operate HSC Fjord Cat.
Mr Haartvedt denied there was any favouritism towards Color Line. He said that the link between Kristiansand and Denmark is an important one for local freight. “We have been very strict that we want competition all year round as we are an important port for the south of Norway when it comes to cargo in and out of the region,” he said.
Fjord Line’s board was due to meet yesterday to discuss the situation.
Superferries plan boost for Harwich ferry port
Date: 15 Oct 2008 Source: Gazzette NewsHarwich port is gearing up for a major tourism and jobs boost after travel bosses confirmed the arrival of two new 'super ferries'.
Stena Line is to charter the £357 million super ferries from Harwich to the Hook of Holland within the next two years.
But two of the current ferries that travel from Harwich will be taken away from the port.
Two years ago, Stena Hollandica and Stena Britannica were given a £70 million makeover, but will be moved to a Baltic Sea route. Stena said it is looking into the possibility of new jobs due to the size of the superferries, which have an increased capacity of 30 per cent.
Stena’s Lars Olsson said: 'We feel that operating the world’s largest ferries on the route out of Harwich to the Hook of Holland will bring significant benefits to travellers and residents of South-East England.'
Portsmouth Ferry port's £15m plan approved
Date: 15 Oct 2008 Source: BBC NewsA £15m scheme to build a new passenger terminal at Portsmouth ferry port has been given the go-ahead by councillors.
The development at Portsmouth Continental Ferry Port is expected to be completed by the end of 2010 and in use early the following year.
The new building will feature shops, an upstairs bar and a currency exchange.
The plan was approved by the city council, which owns the port, and architects will work on the plan before contracts go out to tender in 2009.
Port bosses are hoping to make the building environmentally-friendly, with one idea being to harness the southwesterly wind as natural ventilation.
Phil Gadd, port manager, said: "This will be a much-needed, landmark building at the port and we are keen to ensure it incorporates the latest environmental technology to future proof it for ferry passengers and our customers alike."
Ferry industry prepares for £1 billion of investment
Date: 13 Oct 2008 Source: Travelweekly.co.ukThe ferry industry will invest more than £1 billion in its infrastructure in the next few years.
The new funding was unveiled by the Passenger Shipping Association at last week’s ABTA conference and will see money spent on both new ferries and improved facilities at the ports.
Deals already agreed include a £357 million purchase of two new superferries by Stena Line which will sail between Harwich and the Hook of Holland from 2010 while £285 million will be spent by P&O Ferries bringing two new ferries on its Dover-Calais service from 2010.
Ashore, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and Howard Holdings have agreed to spend £130 million on a new passenger building for Condor Ferries while £16.5 million has been earmarked by Portsmouth Port on a new passenger terminal and other improvements.
PSA director Bill Gibbons said: “Our members handle more than 36 million passenger journeys every year and they have been quietly investing millions of pounds in new ships and services to compete with other forms of travel.
'The results have been impressive - ferry travel is definitely undergoing a revival as people turn away from chaos at airports and look for hassle-free, value travel with short check-in times where there are no luggage limitations.
But what’s exciting is this continued scale and commitment to investing in new ships and services for the future. We know now more than a billion pounds has already been committed by ferry companies and ports with new ships and services coming on stream between now and 2011.'
Dover approves new LD Lines ferry service
Date: 7 Oct 2008 Source: Directferries.co.ukThe Port of Dover has approved ferry operator LD Lines’ plans to launch the only freight carrying service between Dover and Boulogne.
The four times a day service will begin sailing on 1 July and will offer a crossing time of one hour 45 minutes.
LD Lines’ director general Christophe Santoni said: "We are delighted to have now received confirmation from the Port of Dover that our new Dover – Boulogne route has official approval.
"Our entry into the highly competitive short sea cross channel ferry business is a major development for LD Lines.
"We are convinced that the service will undoubtedly attract new freight and tourist customers, which will benefit both Dover and Boulogne as departure and destination ports."
The Norman Spirit ferry has capacity for 1,850 passengers, 700 cars and 110 freight vehicles, currently being used on LD Lines’ Portsmouth-Le Havre route, is expected to be used on the service.
In the first year of operation the company expects to carry in the region of 120,000 freight vehicles, 133,000 cars and 400,000 passengers.
Bob Goldfield, CEO of the Port of Dover said he welcomed the additional capacity at a time when it is planning a second ferry terminal to meet forecasts in traffic growth.
Fares for tourist passengers have yet to be finalised.
For regularly updated information, please visit our LD Lines page
For more information on current services to Boulogne, please visit our Dover Boulogne Ferry page.
Eurotunnel update
Date: 1 Oct 2008 Source: Directferries.co.ukTravel information from Wednesday 1st October onwards:
Eurotunnel have announced an increase in departure frequency from one shuttle every two hours to a minimum of one shuttle every 90 minutes.
Please find below details of the latest timetable.
Monday – Friday: one departure every 90 minutes
Saturday & Sunday: two departures every 90 minutes
Note: Eurotunnel will be operating an overnight service
For further updates, please visit our travel alerts page.
Kystlink set to shut down
Date: 1 Oct 2008 Source: aftenposten.noKystlink, which ran ferries between Langesund in Norway, Strömstad in Sweden and Hirtshals in Denmark announced Wednesday that it planned to go out of business. Layoffs loom.
Around 150 employees were told that they no longer would have jobs with Kystlink after November 1.
"We gave them the message that we are in a very critical situation and therefore it's been necessary to lay off staff," Kystlink's chief executive Jarle Dragsten told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK).
The ferry line has suffered heavy losses and the firm now faces either liquidation or bankruptcy. "We have lost enough money on Kystlink" said Ole Torberg Bjørnevik of Taubåtkompaniet, which has been the firm's main shareholder.
Kystlink had trouble competing against Color Line, which recently put new fast ferries on routes to Hirtshals from Kristiansand and Larvik.
Port of Dover seeing record traffic levels
Date: 1 Oct 2008 Source: Lloyds ListThe Port of Dover has announced that it has been hitting record levels of car, passenger, freight and coach traffic on its ferries following the Channel Tunnel fire.
In the week commencing September 22nd, some 58,500 tourist cars and 2,863 coaches travelled through the port, equating to more than 305,000 passengers embarking on ferry crossings, as well as nearly 54,000 freight vehicles.
Bob Goldfield, chief executive of the Port of Dover, said that the facility is "demonstrating its ability to step in and handle higher volumes at a time when the Channel Tunnel is operating at reduced capacity".
He added: "We are now moving into the annual Christmas surge of shopping excursions to the hypermarkets and continental Christmas markets.
"The port is running smoothly to keep the UK's economic supply chain unbroken and to keep leisure travel on track."
P&O Ferries, Norfolkline, SeaFrance and SpeedFerries all offer ferry crossings from Dover, to Dunkerque, Calais and Boulogne.
Their services may see a slight reduction in traffic over the coming week as services through the Channel Tunnel begin to return to full capacity.
© Direct Ferries Ltd
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