Source: BBC News

A cross-Channel ferry to France which has been operating from a Dorset town for the past 17 years will be withdrawn due to declining passenger numbers.

Brittany Ferries said the Barfleur ferry between Poole and Cherbourg had been losing money since 2003 and would be taken out of service in the spring.

But the firm revealed it had bought a new £75m ferry to increase sailings from Portsmouth to northern Spain.

Poole councillor Ron Barker said the move was a blow to tourism in Dorset.

‘Totally devastated’

“Poole and Cherbourg have been twin towns for almost 30 years and it will have a cultural impact,” added Mr Parker, vice chairman of the Poole and Cherbourg management committee.

“This is [also] a bitter disappointment for the economy of both towns with a loss of tourism trade.

“We are totally devastated to lose the Barfleur – 80% of the passengers who travelled on it were from the UK.”

Stephen Tuckwell, from Brittany Ferries, said: “The new ship will operate three days a week to Cherbourg.

“We are also beefing up the number of departures from Poole to Cherbourg using the freight ships, so it is not the end of commercial operation to Cherbourg.

“But it does mean a switch from Poole to Portsmouth.”

Mr Tuckwell went on to say that the high-speed Normandie Vitesse ferry to Cherbourg had “done very well” compared to the Barfleur since its launch in 1998.

He added that “every effort” would be made to “limit the number of job losses” which “would be voluntary”.

Mr Tuckwell also indicated some of the staff could be transferred to Portsmouth to work on the additional services.

It was recently announced that the 24-year-old Portsmouth Continental Ferry Port is to be demolished in January to make way for a new £16m passenger terminal.

Irish Ferries has informed holidaymakers that modern travel links mean they do not have to be ‘a slave to airlines’.

Declan Mescall, the company’s head of passenger sales, encouraged travellers to consider taking ferries to Ireland from Britain next year.

He said that extensive investment by ferry operators in recent years means ‘the time has passed’ that travellers were forced to rely on air travel.

‘Those who choose to go by sea can look forward to features such as club class lounges on board as well as priority boarding and discharge at ports of departure and arrival,’ Mr Mescall added.

The Irish Ferries spokesman also referred to airport congestion and baggage restrictions imposed by airlines as reasons for travellers to consider the option of sea crossings.

Fastnet Line Swansea Cork Bookings

Fastnet line have announced that the Swansea Cork online booking
system and pricing is now available on the website at
www.fastnetline.com.

The Swansea to Cork service will commence on March 1st 2010, sailing
from Cork to Swansea, departing at 21:00 arriving in Swansea at 07:00
the next morning. See the website for the full schedule.

Special Opening Offer – Kids Travel FREE on Fastnet Line !!
That’s right – simply book at least one adult ticket with vehicle for
travel during 2010
- and up to three children can travel with you absolutely free!
Bookings must be made before 1st April 2010, children must be under 16
on the date of travel, excludes cabin.

If you need further information or have any queries, please check our FAQ at

http://www.fastnetline.com/faqs.html

We look forward to welcoming you on board MV Julia in 2010.

Regards

Ann Cronin – Sales & Marketing Manager

p.s. – Please feel free to forward this information to anybody you
know who might be interested!

Fastnet Line, Ferry Terminal, Ringaskiddy, Cork, Ireland
Tel: + 353 21 4530440 Email: info@fastnetline.com Web: www.fastnetline.com

Posted via email from Ferry blog

The newest conventional ferry on the cross channel route was detained by safety inspectors moments before it was due to sail out of Portsmouth to Cherbourg.

The Norman Voyager has capacity for up to 800 passengers, 200 cars and up to 120 freight vehicles. On board facilities include 110 cabins, bar, restaurant, lounges, cinema and a shop. Passengers who were already on board the vessel were told to disembark after it failed tests relating to fire safety, watertight integrity and staff safety training.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said the company and crew had worked hard to address its concerns and has now been given the all-clear to sail.

Celtic Link sub-charters the vessel from LD Lines which, in-turn charters it from another company called Epic. A spokesman for Celtic Link said it was unlikely the ferry would leave Portsmouth until the bad weather was over.

Severn Link chairman Chris Marrow has had to address concerns about the capability of the newly purchased Fast Cat ferries to cope with the new Ilfracombe to Swansea ferry route across the Bristol Channel.

The announcement of the new ferry crossing due to start sailing at Easter 2010 prompted a number of concerned voices to make themselves heard.

The Fast Cats which will run daily from Ilfracombe in North Devon to Swansea in South Wales have been bought for the new route from the Isle of Wight service, but Derek Gawn, from Ireland said he had lived on the Isle of Wight for some time and his experience was that anything more than "a slight blow" would mean the fast passenger ferry was suspended to avoid the bad weather, or replaced by a car ferry.

In his comment he said:

"I lived for 48 years on the Isle of Wight. I have been in the Merchant Navy. I have worked on passenger ships. I know the sea. I know all about the Solent, where these vessels have been running. I have travelled on these two vessels. When they operated between the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth their reliability was almost laughable — and that was a 4.5 mile trip in semi-sheltered waters. What on earth will a 20-plus mile trip across a very exposed stretch of water be like? It will be great on the best days of the summer, but the chance of running on bad days or in the winter will be pretty slim. Don't get me wrong, it's a great idea — but the wrong vessels."

Chris Marrow, chairman of Severn Link, has replied saying "Yes, there will be times when it is too bumpy for a crossing, but you're going to get that whatever the vessel. The alternative is simple — no ferry. We are all professional sea-farers and we are consulting with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The Fast Cats do have good sea-keeping qualities, but none-the-less these are 40m vessels and we are aware of the fact that they will sometimes be weather limited. But we are still discussing the limitations with the MCA. The vessels can cope up to a certain level, but after that they won't sail, but that's true of any ferry.  The problems these vessels had at the Isle of Wight weren't to do with conditions out at sea, but primarily with what they were like at Ryde Pier, where they were often unable to land.

"Our main concern is that we won't strand anyone. Day-trippers will be refunded and anyone who is planning a holiday will be offered an alternative journey by coach — it won't be what they hoped for, but at least they won't be stranded."

Sea trials in the Bristol Channel are due to be carried out in the coming weeks, with the MCA, and the first Severn Link ferry is due to make the crossing around Easter-time next year.

Posted via email from Ferry blog

Ferry Fuel Surcharge

With effect from 1st September 2009, the ferry company DFDS Seaways will be
introducing a fuel surcharge across all of their products. The price
of oil has reached a level which gives DFDS Seaways considerable extra
costs for the purchase of fuel. The temporary fuel surcharge will be
£5pp each way and children are exempt from the surcharge.

Their website at www.dfds.co.uk is updated with the new fuel-inclusive
prices since Saturday 29th August 2009.

The price of oil has fluctuated a great deal during the last year, and
the ferry company chose to wait as long as possible before
introducing a surcharge. Now the price of oil has stabilised at a high
level so they can no longer absorb the higher fuel costs by making
savings in other places.

Other ferry cpmpanies are expected to follow suit, if they have not
done so already.

Posted via email from Ferry blog

Ferry from Pembroke Dock, Wales to Ferrol, Galicia, Spain

Here’s a new ferry route planned which sounds great for Wales and Galicia but with restricted passenger numbers. A new ferry service which could take cargo and passengers directly from Pembrokeshire to the north coast of Spain is now under discussion and could be up and running as early as next year, 2010. The possible route between Pembroke Dock and the city of Ferrol, in north western Spain, is still in its early stages, but could give huge advantages to haulage companies if it goes ahead.

Passenger ferry service

Unfortunately for potential holidaymakers and tourists, the ferry service being discussed by the Milford Haven Port Authority (MHPA) and port bosses at Ferrol would only have room for about 10 to 12 passengers, the main focus being on transporting freight, unaccompanied by drivers, which would be dropped off at the ferry in Pembroke Dock and picked up at the other side. In other words, this would be a container ferry rather than a car ferry or even long distance lorry ferry.

Ferries reduce environmental impact

MHPA commercial director Joe Besch said:

The benefit would be that you don’t have a lorry driving right across England, France and Spain. Companies can save on the environmental impact and on the roads and costs of drivers”

Research has already shown that there are between 90 to 100,000 potential truck loads which could use the service, with around 16,000 units needed to make the route viable.

Mr Besch continued

The more people we can get the better, because you are increasing the utilisation of the ferry terminal at Pembroke Dock and we also have a twice daily service with Ireland and this would allow for Irish cargo to come from Ireland and send cargo directly over to Spain. We have spoken to ship owners and ferry companies, the next stage is to do more market research and find out who the companies are who could use the service.

Where is Ferrol?

Ferrol is a city in the Province of A Coruña in Galicia. Located on the Atlantic coast in north-western Spain, it has urban population of 77,859 and metropolitan area of over 241,528 (2007)

The city has been a major naval shipbuilding centre for most of its history, being the capital of the Spanish Navy’s Maritime Department of the North since the time of the early Bourbons. Before that, in the 17th century, Ferrol was the most important arsenal in Europe. Today, the city is also known as the home of the shipbuilding yards of Navantia .

The new Fastnet line Swansea to Cork ferry will begin on St David’s Day 2010.

It was hoped a new ship would run the route between Wales and the Irish Republic earlier than 2010 but the co-operative aiming to restart the service says it will not run until early next year now.
The delay has been blamed on the lengthy negotiations to secure the vessel and many travellers already having made alternative arrangements for this year, so it will now set sail for the first time on St David’s Day 2010.

Last month, hundreds of shareholders voted in favour of forming a co-operative to purchase the 340-cabin, 1,400-passenger ferry MS Julia to run the route.

It will operate under The name of Fastnet Line.

Source: Lloyds List

LD Lines new high-speed ferry Norman Arrow left Hobart over the weekend to travel the 11,726 miles to Dover, where it is due to arrive on May 23, writes Sandra Speares.

The 11,000 gt vessel will become the largest ever fast ferry to operate on the cross-Channel route between Dover and Boulogne and the first freight carrying high-speed vessel across the Dover Straits.

LD Lines will begin its service on May 29.

Norman Arrow is also the world’s largest diesel-powered catamaran and the first Incat-built 112 m craft to operate in Europe.

When the ferry enters service, LD Lines will move from two return sailings daily by conventional ferry Cote d’Albatre to six. The fast ferry will make the crossing in one hour and will carry all types of traffic including vehicles, coaches and foot passengers, as well as freight.

The ferry will have a service speed of 40 knots and capacity of 1,200 passengers and 417 cars.