Spanish shipyard Astilleros Armon is building a dozen hybrid monohull passenger ferries for Italian operator Liberty Lines, with deliveries scheduled to run from this year until 2026. Each newbuild in the series will measure 39.5m x 8.3m and feature a depth of 4m and a draught of 1.8m. The aluminium ferries will be kifted out […]
Now under new ownership, the Gibraltar shipyard finds itself in a good place, as favourable market conditions generate increased volumes of business. Last year marked the start of a new era for Gibdock as it was taken over by the UK-based The Balaena Group in May 2022. Since then, the yard has gone from strength […]
Both San Giorgio del Porto (SGdP) and Chantier Naval de Marseille (CNM), sister companies within the Genova Industrie Naval group, maintained healthy volumes of business during 2022 The past year at SGdP and CNM witnessed similar trends to 2021, as the yards sustained their recovery after the pandemic. In particular both yards were able to […]
The new Isle of Man Steam Packet ferry, the Manxman, has finally been delivered after delays due to gearbox problems. The vessels began the long voyage home from Ulsan, South Korea, to Douglas, Isle of Man in May. The company says that the issues with the new £78 million ferry have been resolved. A gearbox […]
Stena Line, one of Europe’s leading ferry operators, has announced that it is constructing two hybrid propulsion vessels designed to run on methanol for its Belfast-Heysham route. The move is in response to increasing customer demand. Construction of the NewMax vessels will begin shortly with launch on the Irish Sea in 2025. Between them, the […]
Xin Sheng Tai: Shanghai’s supercharged solution for short-hop ferry runs Late 2022 saw the delivery of Xin Sheng Tai, an electric ferry designed by the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) and built by Yaguang Technology Group. The ferry will provide public transport to commuters between Changxing Island and Hengsha Island, on the Yangtze River […]
Fjord Line to convert LNG-powered ships to dual fuel The Norwegian ferry operator Fjord Line has decided to turn two of its vessels back from single fuel LNG to dual fuel as a result of unsustainable cost pressures For many years LNG has been seen has one of the primary answers to the need to […]
February saw the launch of the report Safety of Domestic Ferries – A Scoping Study of 7 Countries, based on research conducted by World Maritime University representatives including Anish Hebbar, Serdar Yildiz, Nadhir Kahlouche and Jens-Uwe Schröder-Hinrichs. The team’s research was funded by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation and supported by Interferry, the Worldwide Ferry Safety […]
Dutch naval architecture firm CoCo Yachts has been contracted to supply the designs for two Urban Sprinter 1000-type, diesel-electric vessels for Hong Kong operator Sun Ferries. The duo will be built by YaGuang Technology Co, China, and will provide daily runs between Central Pier and Cheung Chau Pier in Hong Kong. The ferries are double-ended, […]
Viking Line route between Finland and Sweden to become green corridor The Finnish shipbuilding industry focuses on passenger vessels and ice-breaking tonnage that are more complex to build than many other types of ships. In addition, the country has substantial competence in R&D of decarbonisation in shipping. Last autumn, Business Finland granted almost €1.6 million […]
Thames river cats prove a capital challenge for Wight Shipyard Commissioned with building two Thames river cats for the Uber Boat by Thames Clippers service, Wight Shipyard Co. found that producing a low-emission solution was far from straightforward. Stevie Knight finds out about the challenges involved, and how the yard overcame them You might believe […]
Danish ferry company Scandlines, which operates two services between Denmark and Germany, converted a ferry to hybrid propulsion in 2013 and has since worked on ways to reduce emissions and to meet its target of becoming emission free by 2040. A ro-pax ferry currently on order at the Cemre Shipyard in Turkey will take the […]