Ferry Time blog

Ypres Battlefields
The historic battlefield landmarks of World War I

Enjoy a relaxing and fascinating short break, full of history and culture and get a unique journey at sea too. Sail with DFDS Seaways and we’ll cruise you overnight to your destination and back again, giving you time to relax and enjoy delicious food and drink, an array of entertainment and more.

4 night Cruise & Hotel Break to Ypres Battlefields from Newcastle

Undertake this battlefield tour of Ypres and visit some of most monumental landmarks of the First World War with guided tours throughout your short break

With picturesque tree-lined canals, fantastic restaurants and cafés, stimulating art galleries, fascinating museums, diamond houses and more, a hotel break to Amsterdam is the perfect cultural getaway. Simply sail away and discover the vibrant Dutch capital now!

What’s Included:
• 2 nights onboard ship in en-suite cabin
• Return transfers to and from ship
• Live onboard entertainment
• 2 nights in the Novotel Leper Centre Flanders Fields
• Breakfast at the hotel
• Dinner at the hotel
• Lunch on all three days
• Local guide on tours

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A cross-Channel ferry to France which has been operating from a Dorset town for the past 17 years will be withdrawn due to declining passenger numbers.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

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 .

Genoa based ferry operator Grandi Navi Veloci yesterday signed a contract to take over the Quai Orsetti in the port of Sète near Montpellier as a base for a new range of services between the south of France and the Maghreb, North Africa. GNV managing director Ariodante Valeri said the company was studying connections to Morocco and Algeria in particular, with a view to launching in October.

The deal with Sète marks the end of a long-running search by GNV for a French Mediterranean home for its burgeoning North African business, which it views as a key driver of future growth.

GNV had appeared destined to settle in Marseilles until soaring bunker prices put talks on hold last year. As fuel prices fell and its interest in the project resurfaced, however, Sète emerged as the favourite to be GNV’s French hub.

Mr Valeri cited its good motorway connections, its location between Marseilles and Barcelona, and the Quai Orsetti’s two berths, which can handle the 200 m long vessels it will deploy on the new routes.

He added that GNV’s arrival in Sète would also provide the region with the competition it seeks on the North African routes, which are currently served out of Sète by Comanav Comarit.

The Italian operator has launched a new company, GNV France, with two French partners specialising in cargo and passenger traffic, to handle the operation.

Mr Valeri envisaged further investment in Sète, perhaps via a stake in a future operating company in the port.

He said GNV France would focus on passenger traffic more than cargo as it seeks to build the business, and that vessels such as the 39,800 dwt Excelsior or the 35,222 dwt Fantastic , would be candidates to operate on the new routes.

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.

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North Sea Routes : Car Ferry Crossings from only £99 each way

If you are within half a day’s drive of Hull and you are quick you could enjoy a short break in either Belgium or Holland for less than £100 each way. There’s a six day summer sale starting today, June 5th 2009.

Twenty Thousand tickets have been put into the sale at a price of only £99 each way, that’s for sailing on
the following North Sea Ferry routes:

• Hull to Rotterdam
• Rotterdam to Hull
• Hull to Zeebrugge
• Zeebrugge to Hull

With night sailings on P&O luxury cruise ferries you can enjoy great
onboard entertainment, delicious food and relax in your own
comfortable ensuite cabin.

When you arrive in Belgium or Holland, you’ll be refreshed and ready
to go and the excellent autoroute motorway connections in Belgium, Holland and
into France mean you’ll be spoilt for choice on where to spend your
short break.

You’ll have to be quick though, tickets are limited and the best fares
will go quickly. Book by 10pm on Wednesday 10th June and travel before
31st December 2009.

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The first voyage of the new ferry service linking Scotland to mainland Europe has just been completed.

The Scottish Viking, which will sail between Rosyth in Fife and Zeebrugge in Belgium three times a week, finished its maiden voyage and passengers were welcomed off the ship by Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond as it arrived into the Scottish port.

He said: “I’m delighted to welcome the Scottish Viking and its first homecoming passengers to Scotland… Maintaining connections with major European markets is vital for Scotland at a time of global economic challenges.

“But not only will the Scottish Viking allow access to important commercial contacts, it will be a boost for the local economy in Fife, and an environmentally friendly route home for Scotland’s friends, family and visitors.”

The ferry, run by Norfolkline, took over the route after it was discontinued by Superfast Ferries in September last year. Its departure from Zeebrugge however was delayed by several hours on Monday when the captain suffered a non-fatal heart attack and a replacement had to be found.

The Scottish Viking was built in an Italian shipyard and registered in Italy, and is therefore required to have an Italian captain on board. However, the ferry service will receive €2 million (£1.8 million) from the Scottish Government through a Waterborne Freight Grant.

As part of his welcome, the First Minister gave each passenger on the Scottish Viking’s maiden journey a special ticket offer for The Gathering, an international clan gathering due to take place in Edinburgh in July.

The Gathering is part of Scotland’s Homecoming Year celebrations, a series of events and festivities taking place throughout 2009 that are designed to put people from across the world back in touch with their Scottish roots.

Plymouth to Santander by Brittany Ferries

Brittany Ferries have been plying the route from the West of England to Santander in Northern Spain for decades and have recently refurbished with faster bigger ferries. Sailing from either Portsmouth on the south coasts of England or Plymouth in Devon, Brittany Ferries are well equiped for the longer sea crossings, avoiding the need to drive all the way down through France. Portsmouth to Santander is the newest route, with the flagship vessel Pont Aven adding the departure port option to the existing route of Plymouth to Santander since March 2009. This new crossing takes 24 hours, reducing the need for overnight cabins to one night, which is faster than anything previously.

More like a cruise than a ferry crossing, the Pont Aven is equipped with swimming pool and whirlpool, entertainment and children’s soft play and video areas. Two cinemas, bars and restaurants including seafood buffet meals help to pass the cruise time with quality offerings.

So why take a ferry to Santander?

Santander is a rather smart resort in Cantabria, with close associations with Madrid whose citizens tend to prefer to decant to the north and west of spain if possible in summer rather than to the steaming hot and over crowded southern costas. To the East is the Spanish Basque Country, and then France while to the West is Asturias and then Gallicia, so the whole of the North of Spain is available to explore from Santander.

Plymouth to Roskoff is long haul route run by Brittany Ferries, connecting  the South West of England with the North West of France. It’s popular with agricultural freight traffic bringing french vegetables across the channel as well as Spanish trucks buying up all the seafood from Newlyn in Cornwall.