Summary of the week, including the end of works on construction of the Gdynia ferry terminal

DFDS and CLdN exchange ships

An interesting exchange took place between two European shipowners. CLdN took the Gothia Seaways ship from DFDS. Built in 2000, the unit has a cargo belt of 2475 m long and will now be swimming under the changed name – Maxine. Meanwhile, the ship Meleq was sent to the DFDS (so far owned by CLdN). It has a 4096 m load belt. From now on, it is named Acacia Seaways. It is worth noting that although ships have changed their names, they will remain on their previous routes (operators chartered them each other). Maxine will power the Baltic network of DFDS connections in April and May, and will enter the new Calais-Sheerness line from June 1. Acacia Seaways will continue to operate Zeebrugge-Purfleet/Esbjerg for CLdN.

Unhappy Wrapping

Not very happy ended one of voyagefor the Molslinjen ferry Fynshav. On Sunday (11 April), the unit floating in Alslinjen colours hit the pirs when entering the port on the island of Als. The shipowner reported that, thankfully, no one was injured. However, the ship itself suffered from dents. The carrier was forced to cancel several later voyages. Eventually, the inspection revealed that hull damage was not a danger to further navigation. The ship, despite its flaws, could be back on the road. An investigation so far has shown that the cause of the collision was poor speed assessment by crew members.

New ferry already in repair

The representatives of Samsø Rederi, who are about to reactivate the Samsø-Aarhus connection with the modern Lilleøre ship, can also speak of a big misfortune. New built for this route ferry was damaged during the incident that occurred last Friday at Sælvig port on Samsø Island. As the media reported, a fast catamaran struck ferry Prinsesse Isabella, who swims on the Hou-Samsø route. "We don't know how it happened yet, but it seems that at the entrance of Prinsesse Isabella was flowing from a different angle than usual" said Carsten Kruse of Samsø Rederi. Large ferry He suffered minor damage. In the case of the recently completed Lilleøre ferry, a visit to the shipyard is needed. Repair work will be carried out in Frederikshavn. This means that plans for starting the Aarhus-Sælvig connection will have to be delayed. The launch scheduled for April 26 was postponed by the carrier's decision.

The new terminal in Gdynia is getting closer. There will be new carriers

The inauguration of the new ferry terminal in Gdynia is imminent. All indicates that the investment will end in June this year, and from September the modern infrastructure will be used by shipowners. Importantly, it probably won't just be the Stena Line that makes connections on the Gdynia-Karlskron route. Other operators were invited to use the new waterfront and two expressed interest in using the base. These are Polish Baltic Shipping (Polferries) and German TT-Line. Appropriate agreements with new carriers would be concluded in May. The facility known as Public Ferry Terminal is built at the Polish wharf. The investment for which the Board of the Maritime Port of Gdynia is responsible is one of the largest projects of this type carried out in Gdynia port for half a century. Its value is about PLN 300 million. The new terminal is new possibilities. It will allow mooring Units up to 245 metres in length (at the Hel Coast, where ferries currently moor, this limit is 175 metres). The facility will be perfectly connected to the A1 motorway and the international road and highway system. In Gdynia there will also be a power option ferryThis electric energy from the wharf. The ecological solution, known as cold ironing, is increasingly used in the most popular ports. 

TT-Line Tasmania orders two large ferries in Europe

A popular shipowner serving crossings between Australia and Tasmania decided to order two new ferrys. The carrier has just signed a contract with Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) from Finland. It means that there is a good chance that the saga with the construction of new units for the operator from Tasmania will happily end. Let us remind you that TT-Line Tasmania, serving the Devonport-Melbourne connection, had previously signed with the struggling German Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft. Last year, however, it was decided that ferries would be built in the Finnish RMC shipyard. Ultimately, due to the global crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was decided to temporarily abandon the plans to build ships. Now it seems that the investment will eventually come to fruition. Construction is due to begin next year. The first of 212 meters ferryit is to be delivered at the end of 2023 and another year later. This represents a total of more than one year's delay compared to the original plans of the carrier already formulated before the crisis. New units will replace over 20-year-old Spirit of Tasmania I and Spirit of Tasmania II ferries. Signing the contract will secure many jobs in the RMC shipyard.

Registration of trucks. Record data from Poland

The information presented on the registration of heavy goods vehicles can be optimistic. The Polish Automotive Industry Association (PZPM) published data for March this year and it turned out that... we have a record. Truck registration increased by 113.6% (compared to the same period last year). The level of 3213 trucks has been reached. Even better is the tractor registration index. In this case, the increase reached 147.6% (2474 vehicles). This is a historical result, because it has never been achieved in one month before. Also in the quarterly dimension the data looks great. In the first three months, an increase of 58.6% was achieved (year-to-year) for heavy goods vehicles and 66.5% for tractors.

Source: PromySKAT