Month: April 2017
In Waters New, Easter 2017 Roundup.
A quick news roundup featuring some vessels which previously plied their trade in NI waters. LE RIF: Could the former STENA GALLOWAY/GALLOWAY PRINCESS soon be back in service? The last purpose-built vessel for the Larne to Stranraer service could soon be back plying her trade in the Mediterranean. Last month LE RIF (ex Stena Galloway, Galloway Princess) was moved from La Spezia to Napoli. The vessel had previously been purchased at auction by the mysterious new Moroccan company DWLM who had intended to refit her at Malaga, however the vessel was moved to La Spezia amid reports of a dispute with the Malaga yard owners over costs. Reports from Italy suggest that the vessel may now be under the control of the group of companies that own Mediterranean operator Moby Lines. Moby themselves have been acquiring a number of elderly vessels in the past couple of years, including the now MOBY KISS (ex ... Read more
Latest local ferry news (wk2 April ’17)
A quick roundup of local ferry news from the past couple of weeks. Carlingford Lough Ferry to start later this year. Scenic Carlingford ferry have announced that they expect the service between Greenore (Co. Louth) and Greencastle (Co. Down), which has caused controversy in some quarters, to begin this coming June. It is expected that the vessel to be used on the service will be the former (Magilligan to Greencastle (Co. Donegal)) Lough Foyle Ferry FOYLE VENTURE (ex Shannon Willow) which is owned by parent company, Frazer Ferries. FOYLE VENTURE is currently laid up at Wicklow EDIT 14/4/17 operating on the Passage East ferry service across the River Suir in place of FDB TINTERN, having undertaken berthing trials at both Passage East ferry (also owned by Frazer Ferries) terminals on the way to Wicklow. The Carlingford Lough Ferry service had been given the go-ahead as far back as March 2014, but has been ... Read more
Ferry industry news roundup (wk 2 Apr ’17)
A roundup of some of the news from the ferry industry in recent weeks. Viking launches FSTR service with former Larne vessel HSC express, whilst competitor Linda Line sells one of their craft. HSC EXPRESS has started the latest chapter of her post-P&O career operating another service in the Baltic, this time for Viking Line as an additional vessel to their fast-conventional RoPax VIKING XPRS on the Helsinki – Tallinn route. Marketed as Viking FSTR (though still officially named EXPRESS), the former P&O vessel is operating the popular route in competition with Tallink’s ‘Shuttle’ service for vehicles and passengers, Eckerö Line who also carry vehicles and passengers on FINLANDIA, and Linda Line, who only carry passengers. The introduction of EXPRESS, which appears to be largely unchanged from her days operating from Larne, appears to be a response to Tallink’s introduction of the brand new MEGASTAR fast-conventional RoPax alongside STAR. Meanwhile, Linda Line have sold one of ... Read more
PR: ICG Cuts the first steel for new €144m cruise ferry
Eamonn Rothwell, Chief Executive of Irish Continental Group plc accompanied by Andrew Sheen, Managing Director of Irish Ferries today (Friday, April 7th 2017) visited the shipyard of Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesselschaft & Co.KG in Flensburg, Germany to oversee the cutting of the first steel plate for use in the construction of their new €144million cruise ferry, which is scheduled for delivery in mid 2018. When in service, the vessel will accommodate 1,885 passengers and crew, with 435 cabins and with capacity for 2,800 lane metres of freight (165 freight vehicles) plus an additional dedicated car deck with capacity for 300 passenger cars. “This first steel cutting is more than symbolic and starts the practical construction of our new build. This investment underpins the confidence the Group has in both the freight and passenger tourism markets between Ireland, Britain and France”, Mr. Rothwell said. Pictured (L-R) Mr. Eamonn Rothwell – Chief Executive – ... Read more
Stena Line Dry Dock update / temporary timetable change
Stena Performer entered Harland and Wolff’s Belfast Dry Dock this morning, re-commencing Stena Line’s Irish Sea refit program for 2017. Sister-ship Stena Precision will follow once Stena Performer has finished. Stena Precision is due back in service on the 2nd of May so I assume Performer will not dry dock until around the 20th. Birkenhead service timetable change For the duration of this final dry dock period, there will be no Belfast to Birkenhead freight shoulder service. However, Stena Lagan and Stena Mersey will operate a full timetable of 2 daily sailings each way. This includes on Mondays when normally there is only one sailing each way with the vessels laying over in the morning/afternoon. Stena Hibernia will work the Belfast-Heysham freight service opposite whichever of the 2 FSG sister ships is not in dry dock for the duration. Title image: Stena Performer in drydock April 2017. Copyright © Scott Mackey. ... Read more
Maintenance update.
Migration to new host about to commence. This is just a quick update to let users know that I am about to start the process of migrating NI Ferry Site to its new European host. As notified earlier in the week, this process may lead to the site becoming unavailable or slow for periods during the next 48 hours or so. This will be the last post before a snapshot of the site contents and database is taken for use on the new host. Any further posts and updates will be from the new host. The process will see the site move from Surpass Hosting based in the US to a much more suitable hosting package with 1&1 internet in Europe. Should there be any unexpected downtime or in the event the site breaks I will update users via the NIFS Facebook Page. Amongst the benefits of the move are a ... Read more
PR: Stena Line sustainability targets is paying off
THU, APR 06, 2017 11:00 CET Stena Line’s increased strategic focus on sustainability and environmental improvements over recent years is starting to pay off. Key measurement data has shown that fuel consumption and emission levels to the air and sea have both decreased. The results are contained in a new Stena Line publication, ‘ A Sustainable Journey ’ which also presents information on ambitious targets the company is setting for itself for a more sustainable future. Reduced fuel consumption and carbon emissions are just examples of Stena Line’s efforts to achieve its vision of Connecting Europe for a Sustainable Future. “We are one of the world’s leading ferry companies with 27,000 departures per year on our 20 routes. Given the size and scale of our business, we are fully aware of our responsibility to operate in a sustainable way. Our belief is that a reduced environmental impact is also essential ... Read more