FERRY, CRUISE, RO-RO AND HIGH-SPEED INFORMATION FOR PROFESSIONALS OCTOBER 2023 • NO. 10 SHIPPAX INFO 58 YEARS 1965-2023 HIGH-SPEED UPDATE WHAT’S THE OPERATIONAL LIFE OF AN ALUMINIUM FERRY? MIXED POST COVID-19 FORTUNES FOR FAST FERRY OPERATORS CYPRUS TO GREECE FERRY LINK REBORN JUST DELIVERED: MANXMAN, BAIEN, GREAT ANTWERP QUICK Q&AS: KONSTANTINOS VENTOURIS - VENTOURIS FERRIES HIGH-SPEED ON ORDERLet’s connect your operational data. “The UHS® is breaking down data silos through its open, secure, vendor-neutral approach, and it is connecting the whole value chain, bringing like-minded suppliers together. As a result, we are gaining data insights that we could not access before, supporting our day-to-day operations.” Are Paulsrud, CTO, Color Line Discover how the UHS® can support your digitalisation goals at telenormaritime.com/uhs Wherever your digitalisation course may take you, whichever manufacturers, applications or partners you choose – we are here to make your journey smooth. Our purpose at Telenor Maritime is to drive the digital transformation at sea. With our innovative Unified Hosting Service™ (UHS®) you will have full access to all your business-critical data for real-time analysis. No OEM silos. No messy, insecure or irregular connections. Simply collecting and storing all of your on-board operational data in one place, to send to shore or analyse on the go. OCTOBER 23 · SHIPPAXINFO 1 www.shippax.com conventional ferries still enjoy seemingly undiminished dominance in in this part of the world. It has not escaped our attention that DFDS’s latest acquisition of FRS Iberia/ Moroc has a substantial high-speed com- ponent. The deal will transform the group into a high-speed ferry operator. Already a dominant player in freight and cruise ferry segments, DFDS has just added three high-speed ro-pax ferries to its formidable armoury. While it is unlikely that the mellifluous and reassuring hums of the conventional ferry engine rooms will be replaced by the arche- typal roars of high-speed vessels anytime soon, in the labyrinthine world of European ferry business, one wonders if high-speed ferry business will be given an impetus by the incursion of the likes of DFDS. But if the battery power were to become the primary source of propulsion energy, we might never hear these proverbial roars in Europe. The editorial team The biggest large-scale conventional ferry market is undoubtedly found in Europe and the Mediterranean. While some may argue that Asia Pacific, too, may have a compara- ble leadership in this arena. What is easier to determine, however, is that the principal high-speed ferry market is not in Europe and the Mediterranean. Since the 1970s, regions such as Greater China have been key high-speed markets. The South American operator Buquebus has also been a champion in this field. For a long time, it has operated the fastest ferry in the world on the River Plate — the 1997-built, LUCIANO FEDERICO L that has a service speed of up to 57 knots. In 2013, the com- pany introduced the first LNG-powered high- speed passenger ferry, the 950-passenger FRANCISCO, between Buenos Aires and Montevideo. By 2025, if all goes according to plan, Buquebus will become the world’s first owner and operator of a battery-powered, high-capacity (2,100-passenger) high-speed ferry. Both technologies and operations of high-speed ferries are firmly rooted outside of Europe. In some ways, it is surprising that ARCHETYPAL ROARS SHIPPAXINFO Published by Shippax AB Box 7067 SE - 300 07 HALMSTAD Sweden Tel: +46 35 218370 info@shippax.se www.shippax.com Visiting address Horngatan 4 SE - 302 33 HALMSTAD Sweden Publisher Elizabeth Mandersson elizabeth@shippax.se Editor-in-chief Victor Mandersson victor@shippax.se Advertising advertising@shippax.se Statistics statistics@shippax.se Subscriptions and Accounts subscription@shippax.se Photographers Frank Behling Christian Costa George Giannakis Søren Lund Hviid Marc Ottini Contributing correspondents Australia Dale Crisp Canada Aaron Saunders Croatia Neven Jerkovic Finland Eero Mäkinen France Nikias Ioannidis Bruno Jonathan Germany Frank Behling Frederik Erdmann Kai Ortel Greece David Glass Italy Angelo Scorza Japan Tsuyoshi Ishiyama Norway Magne A. Røe Poland Peter B. 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ISSN 2002-9063 © SHIPPAXINFO PHOTO: BUQUEBUS2 SHIPPAXINFO · OCTOBER 23 www.shippax.com Editorial Archetypal roars 1 Inside story Cyprus to Greece ferry link reborn 4 Theme High-speed update 13 What's the operational life of an aluminium ferry? 14 Mixed post COVID-19 fortunes for fast ferry operators 18 Midships News 23 Statistics 40 Projects and conversions 44 Fleet changes 46 On order: High-Speed 46 Interview Brian Thomson 49 Just delivered MANXMAN 51 BAIEN 59 GREAT ANTWERP 62 Q&As Konstantinos Ventouris - Ventouris Ferries 68 CONTENTS 13 COVER PHOTO FRANK LOSE 5951 4 49 68 62“Since we started working with Hogia in 2020, we have valued the great partnership and collaboration they have brought to Irish Ferries along with a deep understanding of our business, allowing us to successfully launch Bookit for our passenger division in 2021.” Seamus Mc Carville – Head of IT HOGIA FERRY SYSTEMS FIN-65100 Vaasa, Finland info@hogia.fi | www.hogiaferrysystems.com4 SHIPPAXINFO · OCTOBER 23 www.shippax.com CYPRUS TO GREECE FERRY LINK REBORN In today’s frenetic world, taking one’s time to travel slowly – rather than rushing around as quickly as possible – can often be promoted as a more relaxed and authentic experience. Travelling by sea instead of air surely represents one of the best opportunities to do this, and in Europe, the handful of ferry crossings lasting more than 30 hours were swelled last year by a newly resurrected route, with the successful relaunch of the passenger connection between Cyprus and Greece. TEXT & PHOTOS: RICHARD SEVILLE With subsidies provided by the Cypriot government keen to secure alternative travel connections to their island nation, after a lengthy and somewhat turbu- lent planning process, sailings between Limassol and Piraeus were successfully reopened for the 2022 summer season. This year, on 1 September, Scandro Holdings Limited’s DALEELA success- fully completed her second season on the link. The service has re-established a passenger connection by sea between the two countries for the first time in 20 years and today provides an alternative, keenly priced and far more leisurely choice for travellers making this journey. It was back in 2001 when Salamis Lines finally closed their long-established service from Piraeus via Limassol to Haifa, Israel. Long maintained by the elegant veteran NISSOS KYPROS of 1958, an upgraded operation using the rebuilt SALAMIS STAR acquired from Marlines failed to save the route against the on- slaught from booming budget airlines. Whilst Salamis Lines continued with their cruising and freight businesses, the latter still operating successfully today, for pas- sengers the only option for the next 20 years would be to fly (and try to arrange vehicle transport separately).YourDeckhand.6 SHIPPAXINFO · OCTOBER 23 www.shippax.com Tenders invited Political momentum to re-establish the link began to properly build during 2019, with the Cypriot government motivated to secure alternative transport connections for the island in addition to the air links. The objective was to provide a supple- mentary option, to be available at prices below those for air travel, appealing to niche market segments such as passengers wishing to transport their own vehicles, those travelling with pets or significant baggage, and even people afraid of fly- ing. In June 2020, approval to provide a subsidy was secured from the European Union on the grounds that such a route would meet the criteria for a service of general economic interest. Therefore, it qualified to be put out to competitive ten- der as a Public Service Obligation – giving the green light for up to EUR 6 million to be provided annually by the govern- ment to operators. The subsidy was to be awarded for an initial 3-year contract and a critical requirement was that only private passenger and vehicle traffic was to be subsidised, to ensure the existing market for freight travelling by sea was not distorted. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic hav- ing been unleashed, the first formal ten- dering process was launched in late 2020. This offered a subsidy of up to EUR 5 mil- lion annually, with the requirement for a year-round service to Piraeus from either Limassol or Larnaca, operated by ferry with a capacity for at least 200 passengers (of which 140 could be accommodated in cabins). The service was to be operated for a set period of three years, this time- frame assessed as being required to truly establish and/or test the market. Despite various expressions of interest and initial aspirations that even one of the lead- ing Greek ferry companies may bid, this tender closed in January 2021 without any bidders. Unsurprisingly, the 2021 season was missed, but Cyprus reopened discus- sions with the EU and secured approval to offer a subsidy for a summer-only connec- tion instead which, following discussions with shipowners, it was felt would be more attractive to bidders. When the ten- dering process was relaunched in Novem- ber 2021, the minimum passenger capacity requirement was reduced to 100 while the subsidy on offer had also been raised by EUR 500,000 to EUR 5.5 million annually. This time, three formal bids were received – all from relatively unknown interests – and in late April 2022 it was announced that Scandro Holdings Limited had been awarded the contract with a total subsidy requirement of EUR 15,594,000 across the three-year period. Enter Scandro Holdings Ltd and the DALEELA Scandro Holdings Ltd was created by Cypriot businessman and entrepreneur Marios Michael, in partnership with the Top Kinesis travel agency and local ship management interests including Acheon Akti Navigation. Although new to the ferry industry, Michael has successful busi- nesses in the recycling sector in his home country. Under his leadership, Scandro moved quickly to set up the service, confirming that the vessel to operate the route would be Aletehad Line’s Japanese- built DALEELA. Aletehad, meaning “International Union”, is associated with Arab Bridge Maritime of Jordan and owns a fleet of two ferries usually operating between Safaga, Egypt and Duba, Saudi Arabia. In addition to the DALEELA, their fleet currently comprises the ro- ro freighter AMAL, one of the prolific freighter series built by Van der Giessen in the early 1990s. The DALEELA was acquired in 2019 from Chinese owners but had been built in 1991 for Hankyu Ferry of Japan as the NEW AKASHI. Deployed on their Inland Sea routes between Osaka/ Kobe, Honshu and Shinmoji, Kyushu, she was made available for sale when Hankyu Ferry rationalised their services in 2009 and subsequently passed to China as the GRAND PEACE until sold on to her cur- rent owners in 2019. Scandro Holdings Ltd confirmed that for 2022, they would offer 22 round trips between Limassol and Piraeus, with ca- pacity on each sailing for 400 passengers and 100 cars. Although the DALEELA’s Main garage.INTO CONFIDENCE TURN UNCERTAINTY Learn more: dnv.com/maritime For the maritime industry, this is more than a moment of change. It’s a time for transformation. Never have the decisions it faces been so complex. Nor their consequences ever mattered more. As a trusted voice of the industry, we help decision-makers throughout the maritime world to make purposeful and assured choices. From regulatory compliance, next generation fuels, vessel and operational optimization, to in-depth advice and insight, explore our solutions.Next >