RoPax14

14 / 05.2025

INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE FOR FERRY AND RORO SHIPPING

www.ropax.de

Polferries

New Structure New Brand Polsca

Grimaldi

Growth in the Med

Stena

Morocco boost

+353 (0) 818 22 15 60

dublinfreight@irishferries.com

www.irishferriesfreight.com

EDITORIAL / 03

More Challenges

In our discussions this year with leading shipping companies in the RoRo and ferry sectors, the challenges for successful operations

have increased. All shipping companies are also concerned about the ETS (Emissions Trading System) and the levies that must now be

paid to the EU. Shipping companies are concerned that the additional revenue to promote green shipping will not be fully made available.

Furthermore, there is a major question mark over where shipping companies will get green fuel in the future. The technology is available,

and new ships are being ordered with machinery that can be powered by methanol or ammonia. Currently, there are not enough

suppliers to meet the increasing demand in the coming years. Along with the increased costs, there were also concerns about a shift in

freight traffic to land. The price of transport is crucial.

A major challenge that did not exist in previous years is the crew shortage. It is becoming increasingly difficult for all shipping companies

to find the right crew or well-trained crews. Even in countries where there were previously sufficient young talent in the maritime sector,

crews are being sourced from third countries. The costs of maintaining safe ship operations are rising here as well. Demographic change

will make it even more difficult to place European managers on board ships. Therefore, greater emphasis must be placed on AI and new

countries in Africa and Asia must be equipped with training centers to recruit the crew of tomorrow.

Read more about the challenges in the new issue of RoPax.

We are happy to be this year media partner of Interferry Conference 2025 in Sorrento.

Mehr Herausforderungen

In unseren Gesprächen in diesem Jahr mit den führenden Reedereien der RoRo und Fährschifffahrt sind die Herausforderungen für

einen erfolgreichen Betrieb gestiegen. Alle Reeder beschäftigt auch das Thema ETS (Emission Trading System) und die Abgaben, die

jetzt an die EU geleistet werden müssen. Es gibt Bedenken bei den Schifffahrtsunternehmen, dass die Mehreinnahmen zur Förderung

der grünen Schifffahrt nicht im vollem Umfang bereit gestellt werden. Dazu kommt das große Fragezeichen woher die Reeder den

grünen Kraftstoff zukünftig bekommen. Die Technik ist vorhanden und Neubauten werden mit Maschinenanlagen bestellt, die mit

Methanol oder Ammoniak betrieben werden können. Derzeit gibt es für die ansteigende Nachfrage in den nächsten Jahren nicht

ausreichend Lieferanten. Einhergehend mit den Mehrkosten kamen auch Bedenken einer Verlagerung von Frachtverkehren auf den

Landweg. Der Preis für den Transport ist entscheidend.

Eine große Herausforderung, die es früheren Jahren nicht gab, ist der Crewmangel. Für alle Reeder wird es immer schwieriger die

richtige Crew zu bekommen bzw. gut ausgebildete Crews. Sogar in den Ländern wo es früher genug Nachwuchs im maritimen Bereich

gab, wird aus Drittländern Crew besorgt. Die Kosten steigen auch hier um einen sicheren Schiffsbetrieb aufrechtzuhalten.

Durch den demographischen Wandel wird es noch schwieriger werden vor allem Europäische Führungskräfte auf den Schiffen einsetzen

zu können. Deshalb muss mehr auf KI gesetzt werden und neue Länder in Afrika und Asien mit Trainingscentern auszustatten um dort

die Crew von Morgen zu rekrutieren.

Lesen Sie mehr zu den Herausforderungen in der neuen Ausgabe von RoPax.

Wir freuen uns dieses Jahr als Medien Partner bei der Interferry Conference 2025 in Sorrento dabei zu sein.

Jan Philip Eckmann

(Herausgeber & Chefredakteur / Publisher & Editor)

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

07 14

46

55

22 36

68

Photos:: Finnlines; Philippe Holthof; JPE

CONTENT / 05

Content

EDITORIAL.................................................................................................... 03

MARKET REPORT

Balearia – leading Spanish Ferry Operator .............................................................................. 06

Fjord Line on the right path ....................................................................................................... 07

Viking Line market leader .......................................................................................................... 08

Terberg electric RoRo RT253EV ............................................................................................... 09

More Crew for Ferry Operators ................................................................................................ 09

Port of Naantali – third biggest ferry port of Finland ............................................................ 10

Transfennica is a strong player................................................................................................... 11

Frisia – Innovation im Wattenmeer........................................................................................... 12

IMPRINT

RoPax International Magazine

for Ferry and RoRo Shipping

Address of the editorial office:

JPE-Communication

Große Brunnenstraße 61

22763 Hamburg, Germany

Fon: +49-(0)40-39109581

Mobil: +49-(0)170-8503722

info@ropax.de

www.ropax.de

INTERVIEW

GNV – Growing new fleet and expansion plans...................................................................... 20

Grimaldi continues its success story.............................................................................. 22

Scandlines continues its way to zero emission operations...................................................... 34

Stena Line – Continuing sustainable development.................................................................. 42

Polferries modernization, consolidation to Polsca .................................................................. 52

DFDS strong move forward .......................................................................................... 55

Molslinjen – good results and new electric double end ferries............................................... 64

Irish Ferries hidden champion.................................................................................................... 66

NEWBUILDING

GNV Polaris – GNV ships into higher gear .................................................................. 14

Varsovia – Every inch a Visentini.............................................................................................. 26

Glen Sannox ................................................................................................................... 36

The Spirit of Tasmania Story.......................................................................................... 46

Saint-Malo..................................................................................................................................... 59

Publisher and chief editor:

Jan Philip Eckmann

Authors in this issue:

Andrew Cooke, Jan Philip Eckmann,

Philippe Holthof

Photographers:

Andrew Cooke, Hans Herbert Dünow,

Jan Philip Eckmann, Philippe Holthof

in cooperation with ferrybalear,

Lübecker Hafenrundschau, Bernd Pagel

and marked at the pictures

Ad agent:

JPE-Communication

Editorial Design / Art-Direction:

Daniela Krieger-Vogt

DATA SHEET

GNV Polaris................................................................................................................................. 18

Varsovia......................................................................................................................................... 30

Glen Sannox (Gleann Sannaig).................................................................................................. 40

Spirit of Tasmania IV................................................................................................................... 52

Saint-Malo .................................................................................................................................... 62

REPORT

Rosslare’s First SmartPort – Brock Solutions Revision................................................. 68

Lehmann Group Expands Fleet.................................................................................................. 69

Kiel – Kontinuierliche Innovation............................................................................................. 70

Port of Ystad generates more passengers to Bornholm.......................................................... 72

Port of Helsinki prepares for the future .................................................................................... 74

Lübecker Hafengesellschaft – viele neue Geschäfte................................................................. 76

Rostock Port – stark auch in der Krise...................................................................................... 78

Hirtshals port growth in 2024 ................................................................................................... 80

Port of Trelleborg continues developments.............................................................................. 82

All rights reserved. Reprint or photomechanical

reproduction, translation or data storage

and evaluation for external purposes, even in

extracts, only with the prior written permission

of the publisher. All information provided in

this publication is to the best of our knowledge

and belief. The publisher does not guarantee

the accuracy or completeness of the information

and cannot be held responsible for any

actions taken or corresponding losses resulting

from the details in this publication. The

individual contributions are the responsibility

of the respective authors and do not reflect

the opinion of the publisher.

RoPax is published in printed form in the first

half of a year and can be obtained by direct

sales ( domestic 9 Euro and foreign 15 Euro

incl. shipping and fees).

www.ropax.de

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

?????

Market Report

Balearia, Fjord Line, Viking Line, Terberg, Port of Naantali, Trasfennica, Frisia

BALEARIA – LEADING SPANISH

FERRY OPERATOR

Baleària was founded on June 20, 1998,

with the vision of connecting the Spanish

mainland with the Balearic Islands. Founded

by 16 founding partners and 126 workers,

the company started with two routes,

three ships, and significant debt. In 2005,

Baleària merged with Umafisa, owned by

the Matutes family, with Adolfo Utor remaining

the majority shareholder until the

end of 2021, when he became the sole

shareholder. Adolfo Utor has developed

the company into the leading Spanish ferry

company, always focusing on innovation

and sustainability. Balearia was the first

ferry company in the Mediterranean to

Adolfo Utor with his son Guillermo

Balearia

operate over nine LNG-powered ferries.

He is a fighter and has positioned himself

very well against the major shipping

companies from Italy and Northern

Europe. By winning the license for the

Tarifa – Tangier Ville route, he will build

the first electrically powered catamarans to

operate in the Mediterranean. Expansion

continues in the USA and the Caribbean,

and his second son, Guillermo Utorhas

become the company's new Vice President

and member of the Board of Directors.

RoPax spoke with Adolfo Utor about the

next developments.

RoPax: More than 5.6 million passengers

(+8%) and 550,000 trucks (+3%) were

transported in 2024. Congratulations!

What is the outlook for 2025 and where

is your business strongest, still in the

Balearic Islands or between Spain and

North Africa?

Adolfo Utor: The outlook for 2025 is

positive; in the first quarter, we experienced

double-digit growth. The most significant

gains will be in traffic between Spain and

North Africa, as a result of new routes to

Algeria, Morocco, and the autonomous

cities of Ceuta and Melilla. In the Balearic

Fast Ferry "Eleanor Roosevelt"

Islands, we are maintaining sustained

growth in passenger numbers. We are

confident that this increased volume will

be reflected in the company's EBITDA,

especially considering the addition of new

ferries to the fleet, namely the fast ferry

Margarita Salas in July last year and the

ferry Rosalind Franklin this year.

RoPax: You have won the tender for the

route between Tarifa and Tangier Ville

and are going to order two new electric

catamarans to make this route environmentally

sustainable. What is the current

situation and when do you think operations

will commence?

Balearia

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

MARKET REPORT / 07

Adolfo Utor: We began operating on 8

May with the fast ferry Avemar Dos, which

will be joined by the fast ferry Jaume I in

early June. We are very excited about this

new project, as it has been 22 years and

four failed bids since we first applied for a

berth in the port of Tarifa in 2003. After all

this time, we have finally been rewarded;

our technical and financial bid has been

successful and we are now embarking on a

15-year challenge that will enable us to

develop the first green corridor between

Europe and Africa, with two new 100%

electric fast ferries, which are already

under construction.

RoPax: Last year, you rolled out a major

expansion with new routes between

Spain and Algeria. Do you see a lot of

potential and is your focus more on

cargo or passengers for this market?

Adolfo Utor: Algeria is a strategic market

for Baleària, with growth prospects in

terms of both passenger and cargo traffic.

In recent months, we have added new

connections and currently offer four routes

from the ports of Valencia and Barcelona,

efficiently linking Africa and Europe. In

addition, this summer we plan to increase

our weekly services from three to five to

meet the high demand at that time of year.

This means we will be offering three weekly

services to Mostaganem from Valencia, as

well as one to Algiers, and another to Oran

from Barcelona.

RoPax: You are now operating two

impressive fast catamarans (the Margarita

Salas and Eleanor Roosevelt)

between mainland Spain and the Balearic

Islands. Could you explain the success of

this product and service and whether

you will invest more in this type of fast

vessel in the future?

Fast Ferry "Jaume 1"

Adolfo Utor: These twin fast ferries are

among the most highly rated ships by our

customers and are providing an excellent

service to the Balearic Islands. They offer

passengers reliability, innovation and

comfort during crossings, as well as

reducing our carbon footprint as they are

powered by natural gas. We are already

constructing a third fast ferry with the

same characteristics, at the Armon shipyards,

which we plan to launch in September

and have operational by summer 2026.

Dual LNG and diesel propulsion has

become a successful model that we are

keen to replicate. The versatility offered by

dual fuel will be further enhanced by using

biogas from landfills, farms and large livestock

facilities, resulting in negative CO 2

emissions into the atmosphere. Without a

doubt, these are the boats of the future that

are a reality today.

RoPax: Thank you very much.

FJORD LINE ON THE RIGHT PATH

Fjord Line operates two routes from

Denmark port of Hirtshals to Norway port

of Kristiansand by fast ferry and a cruise

ferry and via Stavanger to Bergen with two

cruise ferries. RoPax spoke with the CEO

Brian Thorsted Hansen about the development

of Fjord Line and the year 2024. Mr

Thorsted Hansen pointed out that 2024

was in general a good year with a profitable

growth after the huge transformation in

2023.

The Norwegian ferry operator rebuilt its

two Cruise Ferries from pure LNG engine

to dual fuel system and interrupted traffic

for a few months in 2023 and closed its line

between Strömstad (S) and Sandefjord (N)

and sold ferry “Oslofjord” to Croatian

operator Jadrolinja. Another very

structural decision was the closure of the

line from Hirtshals to Langesund and the

JPE

WORK TOGETHER FOR A BETTER,

CLEAN AND EFFICIENT SEA

TRANSPORT WORLD

www.naos-design.com

Trieste – Barcelona – Götheborg – Split

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

08 / MARKET REPORT

increase of the capacity at the line between

Hirtshals and Kristiansand by one cruise

ferry per day. In addition, the organization

in Denmark and Norway has been restructured

and gets more efficient. Mr Thorsted

Hansen explained the last three years were

very tough, but the results are now visible.

2024 was satisfactory with all around a

positive year and Fjord Line has now a

stronger resilience. Due to the break in

2023, it took a while to come back into the

market, but also cargo volumes are back.

2024 was for Fjord Line the first normal

year since 2019. There are still challenges

in the market due to the weak Norwegian

currency. It is getting more expensive from

a Norwegian point of view to travel to EU

countries. That is the other side of the coin

explained Mr. Thorsted Hansen, they see

for 2025 very good pre bookings from the

continent. From a German, Dutch or

Danish perspective it is cheaper to travel

to Norway. It will be a snowball effect to

understand for people Norway is not

expensive. Fjord Line management believe

the story that they have seen in 2024 will

continue.

Shift from Langesund to Kristiansand

Fjord Line closed its Langesund – Hirtshals

route and shifted the capacity on the

Hirtshals – Kristiansand route. Brian

Thorsted Hansen describes that they are

quite happy with the shift, it is clear the

freight traffic is smaller than on the east

connection to Norway, but they know the

passenger market is much bigger. Fjord

Line has succeeded with the cargo market

even further in 2025 but on the south

corridor passenger volumes gone up, and

they are in Fjord Line satisfied and happy

about the momentum they have generated.

Due to the high frequency with four

departures per day in both directions

Fjord Line offers different choices, passengers

can order choose services between the

fast ferry “Fjord FSTR” and the classic

cruise ferry. With fast catamaran “Fjord

FSTR” Fjord Line offers the fastest connection

between Denmark and Norway.

Brian Thorsted Hansen explained they can

the data from both vessels benchmark.

They have put additional silicon coating

on both vessels and “Fjord FSTR” which is

a very good way to reduce bunker and

Brian Thorsted Hansen

emission. Fjord Line works on a lot of solutions

to reduce fuels consumption a simple

task is to start earlier the departure if all

booked passengers are on board to be

longer at sea with lower speed. A next step

is to investigate Bio Diesel and to find a

zero-emission bunker for the future.

Cargo business is back

Brian Thorsted Hansen explained the

relaunch of the service, cargo clients came

back, he is quite happy what they get on

board, and they are looking forward to

continuing the cargo success. Fjord Line

has a strong position to transport cargo

from the West Norwegian fish industry in

Norway to the continent. The CEO sees a

steady growth in this business by a higher

demand in continental Europe.

Emission tax and reduction

For Fjord Line, ETS (Emission Trading

System) is on the agenda, and they are

looking in many solutions and innovative

developments to get them down. Fjord

Line has much lower CO 2

footprint on its

connection with Stavanger and Bergen by

23% lower than with MGO (Marine Gas

oil). Fjord Line was the first ferry operator

in 2013/2014 with pure LNG propulsion at

its new cruise ferries. After they introduce

in 2023 the new engines Fjord Line optimized

its schedule, and they use support

from AI solution to optimize the journey.

Fjord Line

Cruise Ferry "Bergensfjord" and catamaran "Fjord FSTR"

Fjord Line

VIKING LINE MARKET LEADER

Viking Line operates very successful its

cruise ferries between Stockholm – Aland

and Turku and Helsinki and between Helsinki

and Tallin. In 2024 Passenger

volumes were relatively stable but cargo

volumes for the year reached record levels.

The capacity on the Helsinki-Mariehamn-Stockholm

route is more than

doubled when Viking Cinderella was

launched in service, and as a result the

market share on that route rose to a healthy

43 per cent. On the Turku-Mariehamn/

Långnäs-Stockholm route, Viking Line has

established a strong market position with

a share of more than 70 per cent. Before

„Viking Cinderella“ returned to service on

the Helsinki–Mariehamn-Stockholm

route, the vessel was reflagged and placed

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

MARKET REPORT / 09

in the Finnish Register of Ships. Consequently,

all five of Viking Line wholly

owned vessels sail under a Finnish flag.

RoPax has a short chat with CEO Jan

Hanses of Viking Line. Jan Hanses will

retire end of 2025 and Marcus Risberg will

take over the position as CEO.

RoPax: 2024 was a little bit weaker

compared to your wonderful year 2023.

How do you see your position in the

market between Sweden and Finland

with the strong competition?

Jan Hanses: I wouldn’t say that the competition

has changed so much, we actually

are the market leader on the route between

Turku and Stockholm with a market share

of 70%. This is the main passenger route

between Finland and Sweden. Between

Helsinki and Stockholm our Market share

is 46 % with two vessels. The capital city

route is challenging though due to the

costs of ETS and Fuel EU Maritime.

"Cinderella"

Viking Line

future for your Helsinki trade? The

existing fleet is aging and not the

greenest solution.

Jan Hanses: As I said this route is a

challenge. We are on the other hand

participating in a study with RMC, two

universities and some electrical companies

to investigate in the possibility of a new

bigger electrical vessel between Helsinki

and Tallinn.

RoPax: Thank you very much.

TERBERG ELECTRIC RORO RT253EV

Terberg Special Vehicles is paving the way

towards a sustainable future with the

exciting RT253EV 4x4 RoRo tractor

(prototype).

In March the vehicle was on tour four

weeks in the UK & Ireland, completing an

exciting road show, showcasing the

machine at some customer sites. Due to

the increasing demand for emission-free

RoRo handling in the future, Terberg has

converted its proven 4x4 RT223 into an

electric version. The first prototype is on

test runs and has achieved initial positive

results. The demands on the vehicle are

very high, as its performance must be fully

utilized with loaded trailers, even during

ramp travel on RoRo vessels. Operators

The new 4x4 Electric Terberg in action

praised the vehicle for its ease of use, driver

comfort, and operational efficiency. As the

electric version of the diesel-powered RT,

the RT-EV helps ports meet their sustainability

objectives by reducing emissions

and offering a cleaner, safer alternative,

quieter to diesel-powered tractors. Further

adjustments will be necessary before series

production begins.

MORE CREW FOR FERRY OPERATORS

The Hamburg-based Uniteam Marine is

expanding its crew services. Founded in

1986, Uniteam Marine now operates as a

multinational organization with wholly

owned offices in Cyprus, Germany,

Ukraine, Singapore, the Philippines, and

Myanmar. The company has recently

Terberg

RoPax: How is the booking situation for

2025 at your lines?

Jan Hanses: Stable, although we don’t have

the Russian and Chinese passengers

anymore. The Market situation has been

challenging during 2024 and still is, but we

expect an improvement towards the end of

Q2.

RoPax: In cargo you described a growth

in 2024 between Helsinki and Stockholm

due to the “Cindarella” effect or did you

get more cargo clients on board? How is

the situation between Turku and Stockholm?

Could you save your clients?

Jan Hanses: We increased the Cargo

volumes during 2024, the trend has

continued into 2025. The interest in

burning bio fuel has also increased.

RoPax: How was the first year of Birka

Gotland? Are you satisfied and happy to

have this product in the market?

Jan Hanses: It has been challenging, but

Gotland Alandia Cruises are working hard

together with our colleagues in Gotlandsbolaget

to improve the result. In the long

term we believe in this product and the

feedback from our customers is very

positive.

RoPax: Do you plan new buildings in the

www.navalue.de

When your corporate culture is based on long-term thinking

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

Viking Line JPE JPE

established a new agency in Manila,

Philippines, further strengthening its

presence in Asia.

Uniteam Marine provides a comprehensive

range of services for vessel operation,

including full management, technical

management, crew management, and

holistic HQSE solutions. The company’s

client-focused approach ensures tailored

support for ship owners and managers

worldwide.

With a pool of highly qualified seafarers

from 27 nations, Uniteam Marine supplies

crew for a wide variety of vessels, including

cruise and ferry operators. The

company’s commitment to quality and

professionalism is reflected in its

continuous investment in people and

infrastructure, ensuring access to a steady

stream of over 6,000 skilled seafarers

PORT OF NAANTALI – THIRD

BIGGEST FERRY PORT OF FINLAND

The Port of Naantali has dramatically

increased its popularity over the past two

years with the commissioning of Finnlines'

Super Star ferries. The port is experiencing

significant growth in both freight and

passenger volumes. Naantali is more as

only a ferry port it has a lot of Industrial

enterprises and factories (e.g. oil terminal,

lubricant factory, power plant, betaine

factory, grain silos etc.) in the immediate

vicinity of the harbour generate large

material flows. Easy ice condition in

wintertime and one of the deepest fairways

and quays in Finland, up to 15,3 m, enable

Aframax tankers and Panamax size bulk

carriers loading and/or discharging

regularly at the port. Moreover, the short

sea voyage and frequent ferry connection

to Sweden make Naantali the most important

cargo hub between Finland and

Scandinavia. RoPax spoke with the new

CEO of Port of Naantali, Hannu Kallio

(M.Sc. eng.) starting from 1.1.2025.

Previously Hannu Kallio has been working

as Chief Operating Officer at the Port of

Naantali Ltd. He has over six years of

experience in development and operative

roles at the Port of Naantali Ltd., previously

he has been working in chemical

industry.

Hannu Kallio has already past the famous

100 days and he had the privilege that the

start was little bit easier, he has been just

over six years with the port. In the last year

the port recognised a huge increase in

cargo volumes by 10% and in passenger

traffic by 80% due tot he much more higher

capacity of the new ferries. In summer

time the „Finnsirius“ and „Finncanopus“

are well booked and Hannu Kallio hopes it

will be more in the future. It is one of the

modernist RoPax operations between

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

MARKET REPORT / 11

Sweden and Finland with the use of the

auto-mooring system and the use of

onshore power they are well prepared for

the future. They have seen there is much

lower emission in the port by the use of

onshore power.

Naantali handles roughly 60 % of cargo

units of the overall cargo between Sweden

and Finland and there is more potential to

increase these volumes. Hannu Kallio

pointed out that there are two projects

developing for green alternative fuels. One

Hannu Kallio

project is to produce here green ammonia

and the second project that has been

announced in the beginning of this year is

to produce in the future in Naantali green

methanol. The Methanol project will

support the green transition and the

availability of this needed fuel of the future.

JPE

Naantali could be the place in the future to

supply the green methanol to many vessel

operators in Finland. To produce methanol

you need CO 2

and the power plant

around the corner, which is using wooden

chips, will deliver the energy and CO 2

for

the methanol production. Also for the

ammonia production he sees huge market

to supply this to cargo vessels, which will

sail with ammonia.

Naantali has also a good volume in

handling grain and bulk products by over

1 Mio. ton per year. The port has some

plans for the future to increase capacities

and to be open for new services. The

lifeline service of the RoRo vessel

“Fjärdvägen” operated by Lillgaard is

running stabile and it is a huge interest of

Aland Islanders to have their own shipping

line to supply goods to and from the island

of Aland. Kallio sees than a demand for

more capacity between Sweden and

Finland. In the future Naantali will get a

four-lane road to the E18 and will have the

best connection to Finland road network.

TRANSFENNICA IS A

STRONG PLAYER

In a discussion with Dirk Witteveen,

Transfennica’s CEO and Rogier Heijnsbroek,

Sales Director at Transfennica,

"Genca" in port of Hanko

RoPax asked a few questions about the

business in 2024 and the upcoming

challenges in the short sea market.

Transfennica operates RoRo services from

Hanko, Kotka and Rauma (Finland) to

Antwerp and Zeebrugge (Belgium),

Paldiski (Estonia), Lübeck and Rostock

(Germany), Tilbury (U.K.) and v.v. 2024

was a slightly weaker year for Transfennica;

the more than four weeks’ strike in the

first quarter of 2024 had a negative impact

on Transfennica's core business. Without

the strike the results would have been

acceptable, underlined Dirk Witteveen.

Dirk Witteveen believes that the ETS

(Emission Trading System) will not affect

the change to cargo volumes on alternative

transport routes to Finland. Finland is an

island and needs sea transportation. The

Short Sea services will remain competitive

Hans Herbert Dünow

Karlshamn

Trelleborg

Klaipėda

Rostock

Travemünde

Świnoujście

Efficient & Reliable Transport Solutions

between Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Sweden

www.ttline.com/en/freight

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

12 / MARKET REPORT

to the alternatives via land, says Dirk

Witteveen.

Dirk Witteveen and Rogier Heijnsbroek

don’t expect a growth in paper volumes

from Finland, because sourcing of raw

material is much more difficult and limited

due to the lack of Russian forest material.

If the political situation would change and

the trade with Russia is possible again,

Transfennica will be ready to restart the

shipping services to St. Petersburg.

Cooperation with CLdN

In 2024 Transfennica started cooperation

with RoRo operator CLdN to widen its

network to Ireland, Northern UK, Spain

and Portugal. Transfennica added

Zeebrugge as hub into its schedule for the

CLdN traffic. CLdN operates RoRo

services from Netherlands and Belgium to

UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and

Denmark. One of its biggest terminals is

Zeebrugge. The new cooperation with

CLdN has proved to be very successful and

Transfennica has got more loads from and

to port of Cork and Dublin (Ireland),

Santander (Spain) and Leixões (Portugal).

This cooperation will gain more new

business and strengthen the position of

Transfennica in the North Sea, says Rogier

Heijnsbroek.

FRISIA – INNOVATION

IN THE WADDEN SEA

The shipping company Norden-Frisia

(Frisia) based in Norderney has put the

first electrically powered catamaran into

service this year at the German North Sea

coast. The shipping company operates

lifeline services to the islands of Norderney

and Juist from port of Norddeich with

five car ferries and three passenger ferries,

as well as two RoRo freight ferries and the

new electric catamaran. Additionally, for

quick transport, the “Inselexpress” ships

are in operation, and sightseeing trips

offered under the brand Cassen-Tours.

The company manages the parking lots in

Norddeich and Norderney and operates

the bus service on Norderney. Furthermore,

all East Frisian islands and the

offshore island of Helgoland served from

Harle Airport with island flights (FLN).

There are stakes in the shipyard Diedrich

and North Frisian shipping company

Captain Stephan Ulrichs

JPE

New electric catamaran "Frisia E1"

“Wyker Dampfschiffs-Reederei”, as well as

in the port and stevedoring operator EPAS

and the waste disposal shipping company

Norden.

Shipping company Norden Frisia transports

approximately 2.1 million passengers

to Norderney and 290,000 to Juist each

year, as well as 190,000 cars to Norderney.

Along the German North Sea coast,

Norden Frisia is the largest shipping

company group. RoPax was in Norddeich

and spoke with the board member of

Norden Frisia, Mr. Carl Ulfert Stegmann,

about the innovation in the fleet, the new

E-catamaran.

New E-Catamaran

CO 2

-neutral, fast, and safe – these are the

qualities of the E-Catamaran (FRISIA E-1)

of shipping company Norden Frisia.

Operating primarily to Norderney at 16

knots (almost 30 kilometers per hour),

Juist can also be served during peak times.

The shipyard has designed the maximum

speed at 19 knots, but there is a speed

limit of 16 knots in the Wadden Sea. The

new E-Catamaran reacts immediately to

every manoeuvre, which was an adjustment

for Captain Stephan Ulrichs compared

to the diesel-powered ships. Since

April 4, the E-Catamaran has been in

regular operation between Norddeich and

Norderney and can transport up to 150

passengers on the route in 30 minutes.

According to Mr. Stegmann, the travel

time to Norderney has halved compared to

the large passenger ferries. Four departures

offered per day. The charging time for

the batteries are 28 minutes, which takes

place at the dock in Norddeich. The Frisia

has not only acquired the catamaran, but

also the pontoon including a charging

station and the grid connection. However,

passengers will have to pay a surcharge for

the new service. Due to its design, it has a

draft of only 1.2 meters and can quickly

reach the island even at low water levels.

The two 600 kW motors are powered by

electricity from 180 batteries, of which 90

are installed in each hull. The new vessel

has cost around 8 million euros.

A unique feature of the new E-Catamaran

concept is that it operates entirely on green

energy. Norden Frisia had already covered

part of its parking areas with solar panels

in 2024, from which electricity generated

to charge the catamaran. The green energy

also used for charging the cars and the

buildings of Norden Frisia. According to

the shipping company, the remaining

electricity fed into the grid. According to

Mr. Stegmann, the shipping company will

closely examine operations over the next

three years and then decide whether there

will be additional sister ships. The charm

of the concept the electricity generated

renewably, making costs easy to calculate,

in contrast to the fuel costs of con ventional

ferries.

With the E-Catamaran concept, the

shipping company Norden Frisia is

sending a clear signal on the German coast

that electric shipping operations also have

a future in the North Sea.

JPE

DATA & FACTS

Length: 32.3 meters

Hull material: Aluminium

Draught: 1.2 meters (without

trimming at full load)

Passenger capacity: 150

Travel time to Norderney

(11 km): 30 min.

Propulsion: 2 propellers driven

by electric motors (each 600 kW),

2 electric bow thrusters (each 75 kW)

Speed: max. 19 knots

Battery capacity: 1,800 kWh

JPE

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

NEWBUILDING / 15

GNV Polaris

GNV shifts into higher gear

GNV is determined to become the

Western Mediterranean’s leading ro-pax

ferry operator. The recent introduction

of GNV POLARIS marks the start of the

company’s major growth path with three

more near sister ships to follow as the

MSC Group subsidiary has also extended

its orderbook with another four ro-pax

ferries that are a further evolution of

Moby’s “Moby Fantasy” platform.

GNV is a fairly young ferry operator.

Initially a Grimaldi Genoa offshoot, it

started operating on the Genoa-Palermo

route with newbuild tonnage that

revolutionised Italian domestic ferry

travel. In more recent years, the company,

now in the hands of MSC Group, has relied

on the second-hand market as it keeps

further expanding its network.

In February 2018, GNV and Moby each

signed an LoI with Guangzhou Shipyard

International (GSI) for two-plus-two

next-generation ro-pax ferries developed

by OSK Design and Moby. But GNV

changed its mind and eventually went its

own way with a new ferry platform

designed by Shanghai Merchant Ship

Design and Research Institute (SDARI)

and GSI, the builder which was also

responsible for the interior design. Freight

capacity-wise the platform was akin to the

standard Stena E-Flexers with a 3,120-

freight lanemetre intake spread over three

decks. The four-ship order was signed

between MSC Group and GSI in 2021 with

a few major changes im ple mented along

the way. Lead ship GNV POLARIS,

delivered in October 2024, represents the

original design with four main engines that

can burn both MGO and HFO in combination

with a hybrid scrubber system to

meet the 0.1% SECA, introduced in the

Mediterranean on 1 May 2025.

The second ship in the series, GNV

ORION, was delivered in mid-April 2025.

Illustrating the yard’s flexibility and

‘can-do’ mentality, an extra cabin block has

been added towards the stern, further

increasing the passenger number from

1,500 to 1,700. The last two ships, GNV

VIRGO and GNV AURORA, will equally

be delivered with an extra cabin block,

yet the pair will boast LNG dual-fuel

engines as GNV has chosen LNG as a

transition fuel.

all images of this article: Philippe Holthof

Sundeck

LARGE AND FAST

GNV is short for Grandi Navi Veloci,

which freely translates the ‘large fast ships’.

The company’s ro-pax ferries built between

1993 and 2003 were both large and fast, but

the speed element became less relevant as

the fleet further expanded. Today, the

company prefers to use the GNV

abbreviation rather than the company’s full

name. Even so, at 45,909gt, GNV POLAR-

IS is the second largest ro-pax in the GNV

fleet and with a 25-knot design speed it

also relatively fast as the four MAN

9L48/60 main engines each have an output

of 10,350 kW.

The Genoa-Palermo route is a real sea

motorway that bypasses the oftencongested

land motorways. To offer a daily

service with two ships, a minimum service

speed of 22 knots is a prerequisite as the

ships also need about four hours to be

turned around with all ro-ro operations

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

Funnel and upper freight deck at night // Outer decks // Stern access ramps

performed via the main deck stern ramps

and the ships’ internal ramp systems.

The route is first and foremost freightoriented

but during the holiday periods, it

is very popular among tourists, especially

from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

The vessels leave late in the evening and

following a night’s sleep, passengers can

enjoy a full day at sea before reaching

destination in the early evening. Unlike in

some of the Nordic countries, it’s not the

ship which is the destination which is why

the accommodation has been kept

functional. GNV deliberately chose for

durable materials that are easy to clean

with vinyl flooring used throughout.

Although it may feel a bit sterile, especially

in the cabin areas, it absolutely fulfils its

transportation purpose.

THE LOWER DECKS

To comply with Safe Return to Port (SRtP)

regulations, the engine room, confined

within B/5 longitudinal bulkheads, is split

by a centreline longitudinal bulkhead with

two main engines and two gensets in each

compartment. The MAN auxiliary engines

are of the 8L21/31 and 6L21/31 types with

an output of 1,760 kW and 1,320 kW,

respectively. The main engines are coupled

to twin-input, single-output gearboxes.

The twin shaft generators have an output

of 2,200 kW each, which is sufficient to

provide the hotel load while at sea when all

four main engines are running and the

gensets switched off.

Forward of the engine room compartments

is the lower hold which has a

capacity of 283.7 lanemetres. On the last

two ships, this lower hold will be sacrificed

for the installation of LNG tanks, reducing

the freight intake to 2,770 lanemetres. The

main deck, accessed via twin stern ramps

has a capacity of 1,380.9 lanemetres with a

maximum of nine lanes. Articulated

freight vehicles can easily turn fore and aft

Cargo operations

of the forward casing. The aft casing is

rather wide and the giant funnel protrudes

from the casing as it houses the exhaust gas

boilers, NOx catalysators, scrubbers, and

silencers. The portside ramp is wider than

the starboard one as it also gives access to

the twin-lane fixed ramp that leads to

Deck 5. The fixed ramp has a capacity of 78

lanemetres with another 1,377.7

lanemetres available on Deck 5 which is

open at the stern and also has shell

openings for natural ventilation. All three

freight decks have a 4.60m free height, but

the main deck has a special area for higher

and heavier vehicles with a 4.90m free

height and 25-tonne axle load.

all images of this article: Philippe Holthof

Bridge

MEDITERRANEAN FLAIR

Simplicity often rules in Mediterranean

ro-pax ferry designs as evidenced by the

no-frills Visentini-class ro-pax ferries. In

terms of passenger facilities and comfort,

GNV POLARIS is kind of a hybrid

between a Visentini-class and Stena

E-Flexer-class as GNV has adopted ‘the

best of both worlds’.

Foot passengers board GNV POLARIS via

the stern ramp system as the outer end of

the starboard stern ramp gives access to

the main (foot) passenger entrance with

flights of stairs and escalators continuing

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

From left to right, top to bottom: Observation Lounge, Market Place, Bistro à la carte, La Piazza Lounge.

to Deck 7. Passengers arrive in a large

plaza with reception desk and adjoining

shop on the starboard side. On the

portside of the casing, yet still in the aft

part of Deck 7, is a vast reclining seat

room that gives access to the open deck aft

and the portside lifeboat embarkation

deck.

A short corridor connects the lobby with

the aft stairway and midship section

between the lifeboats. On the portside of

the centreline is La Piazza Lounge. It has

its own small bar and is the perfect place to

hang out. On the starboard side is a cabin

section with 21 cabins, six of which for

passengers with reduced mobility.

The portside corridor in La Piazza Lounge

continues to the large forward stair lobby

and Market Place, the ship’s main selfservice

restaurant. Passengers who don’t

want to stand in line – the self-service

counter follows a clockwise and anti-

C

clockwise queueing system – can order

M

food from touch screen totems. Plant

partitions separate the Market Place’s main Y

dining area with an intimate à la carte

CM

bistro on the starboard side.

One deck up, forward on Deck 8, is GNV MY

POLARIS’ main bar. Offering 180° views

CY

through large forward and side windows,

it is aptly named Observation Lounge.

CMY

It

also boasts a Pizza Corner on the starboard

K

side, adjacent to the children’s playroom.

As befits a Mediterranean ferry, GNV

POLARIS has a large well-protected sundeck

(on Deck 9 level) with fixed seating

and a self-service snack bar.

In the fire zones aft of the Deck 8’s forward

stair lobby are 107 standard inside and

outside four-berth cabins. During

COVID-19, GNV’s SPLENDID became a

hospital ship and lessons have been learned

from the pandemic as GNV POLARIS has

an isolated biosafe section with four

cabins. Owing to this, it obtained RINA’s

‘Biosafe Ship’ class notation. There are

another 112 cabins on Deck 9 – all are

four-person as the four luxury cabins have

double beds and convertible sofa beds for

two passengers.

GNV is Italy’s sole ro-pax ferry operator

that offers a Genoa-Palermo sea motorway.

ai171473441717_RoPax 2024 PORT OFKIEL 178x126.pdf 1 03.05.2024 13:06:58

With its new ro-pax ferries, the company

has a trump card to play, further cementing

its leadership in the Italian domestic ferry

market.

Philippe Holthof

➔ On our webpage www.ropax.de you

can read the complete article.

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

18 / DATA SHEET

GNV Polaris

Philippe Holthof

GNV POLARIS DATA SHEET

Designer: N/A

Owner: Compania Naviera Allegro SA – MSC Group

Operator: Grandi Navi Veloci

Yard: (Contract) Guangzhou Shipyard International

Yard No.: 21110001

IMO: 9948592

Classification: Freight-Passenger /Ro-Pax

Flag: Italy | Port of Registry: Genoa

Date of delivery: 14th October 2024

Service:

| Sailing Time:

CARGO ACCESS

Stern ramps:

Deck 3: 2

Deck 5: N/A

Bow ramp Deck 3:N/A

Side ramp (s): N/A

Internal ramp(s): Yes Decks 1-3-5

Lift (s):

Yes (Passenger)

Lane Width: 3.5m

PROPULSION

Main engines: 4x MAN 9L4860 | Power Output: 10,350kW each

Total Output: 41,400kW | Propulsion Gear: 2x CPP

Gearboxes: 2x

Auxiliary Engines: 2x MAN 8L21/31 1,760kW

2x MAN 6L21/31 1,320kW

Total Power Output: 5,700kW

Exhaust Gas Emission Abatement: Hybrid Type (Open/Closed Loop)

Emergency Generator: 1x 750kW

Fuel: HFO/MGO | Bow Thrusters: 2x 1,800kW

Rudders: 2x | Stabilisers: 2x

Design Service speed: 25 knots

Shore Connection: Yes (Port/Starboard)

Boiler:

1x 3,000kg/h

Waste Heat Turbine Generator: 1x 900kW

Shaft Generators: 2x 2,200kW

PRINCIPAL DIMENSIONS

Length Overall: 218.00 m

Length Between Perpendiculars: 205.87 m

Beam:

29.60 m (moulded)

Hull Depth: 10.00 m (to Deck 3) | Hull Draught: 6.80 m (Design)

Deadweight: 8,000 t

Gross tonnage: 45,909 gt

Displacement: N/A

Net Tonnage: 18,695 t

Ice Class: N/A

PASSENGER CAPACITIES

Total capacity: Passengers: 1,500 (short sea)

545 (long haul voyage)

Accommodation: See Remarks

Cabins: 240

Beds: 950

Pullman Seats: 400

Crew: 85

REMARKS

Date of Building Contract: 16th August 2021

Keel Laid: 21st August 2023

Departed for Hong Kong on her maiden voyage, bound for Italy, on 30th October 2024.

Additional Class Notation: AUT-UMS BIOSAFE SHIP COMF-NOISE-B COMF-VIB-B

GREEN PLUS INWATERSURVEY MON-SHAFT SRT

Decks: 11

Vehicle Decks: 3

Reefer Sockets: 100 (50x Deck 3/50x Deck 5)

Deck 3 has a special area for heavy loads – clear height 4.90m with a 25t deckload.

Public Spaces:

Deck 7 Self Service Restaurant, Bar, Lounge, Shop

Deck 8: Lounge, Pizza Corner, Kid’s Play Area

Deck 9: Open Lounge Bar

Special Thanks must go to GNV

for kindly supplying information and images.

CAPACITY OF HOLDS DECK-AREA IN SQM DECKLOAD (TON / SQM) FREE HEIGHT CARS 5.5M LANE METRES FOR TRAILERS TRAILERS

Hold Deck 1: 15t 4.60m 283.70lm 14

Main Deck 3: 15t 4.60m 1380.90m 73

Upper Deck 5: 12.5t 4.60m 1377.70m 75

Internal Ramp Deck 15t 4.60m 78.00lm

Total: Not Supplied 600 3182.60lm 162

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

20 / INTERVIEW

GNV

GNV – Growing new fleet

and expansion plans

Italian based Ferry Operator GNV and part of the MSC Group

operates actual 23 RoPax vessels and two RoRo vessels in

the Mediterranean Sea.

will be the largest and most spacious in the

Mediterranean by tonnage at 71,300 tons.

RoPax spoke with Matteo Della Valle,

Chief Commercial Officer of GNV about

the next steps.

The company continues to invest in technology,

service quality, and environmental

sustainability, aiming to provide an

increasingly efficient, modern, and

eco-friendly travel experience.

Following the arrival of “GNV Polaris”

which we describe in an extra article, the

first of the new units that entered service

last January on the Palermo-Genoa route,

GNV has announced that from June 2025,

it will be joined by the second newly built

ship, “GNV Orion”. Both ships stand out

for their high environmental standards,

which will allow a 30% reduction in CO 2

emissions compared to the other units currently

in the fleet. GNV has announced

that two new lines will be opened in the

summer season to Algeria. From the port

of Sète, the ports of Algiers and Béjaïa are

served weekly.

In May 2025 GNV has signed an adittional

shipbuilding order with Guangzhou

Shipbuilding International in Guangzhou,

China, for four new LNG powered Ro-Pax

ferries. This new order, combined with the

previous one, will mean GNV will expand

its fleet by eight new units between 2025

and 2030. The new ferries, each with a

capacity of 2,500 people, over 500 cabins,

and 3,500 linear metres of garage space,

Matteo Della Valle, Chief Commercial Officer of GNV

“It was the year in which

our revolution started

because we received new

RoPax vessel ‘GNV Polaris’

in December 2024.”

GNV

RoPax: How was the year 2024 for GNV?

Matteo Della Valle: It was a good year. I

would like to say that it was the year in

which our revolution started because we

received new RoPax vessel “GNV Polaris”

in December 2024. It is the first of our

four-brand new RoPax ferries. She has

capacity for 1,500 passengers and offers

3,500 lane meters capacity. She is fully

digitalized, and she has an impact on the

environment that is 30% less than any

other RoPax vessel in the Mediterranean

Sea. We started our new service and we

also abandoned our old vessel „GNV

Aries“. Our revolution is continuing in

2025. It is a huge year for us because we are

going to receive at least two of the other

three new vessels. The “GNV Orion” will

arrive in May and starting service in June

also at the line to Sicily. She has characteristics

as „GNV Polaris“ but with 200 more

cabins. With 10 months in advance we will

receive „GNV Virgo“ in November. We are

planning to start the operation with the

third RoPax in December 2025.

RoPax: On which line will you operating

„GNV Virgo “?

Matteo Della Valle: It’s not finalized on

which line she will operate. We will get the

fourth RoPax „GNV Aurora“ in first month

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

of 2026. We will have four new vessels in

2026. „GNV Virgo“ and „GNV Aurora“

have the same size but will operate with

LNG.

RoPax: Could you tell us some a bout the

pre-booking situation for 2025?

Matteo Della Valle: The bookings for 2025

are more favourable than 2024. I mean, if

we compare today with the same day, so

with the 19th of March 2024, we see an

advance booking now. Situation is better.

We think that it is based by the fact that we

are putting new vessels into service. The

two new vessels that we will have for 2025

are not the only news for our customers

because we have also had an intensive,

refitting program. We have transformed

five vessels into smart vessels.

GNV

JPE

”GNV Bridge“ in Barcelona

RoPax: Do you have some new lines in

planning and new destination for the

next years?

Matteo Della Valle: Well, we have many

destinations on the table, and we have

many simulations on the table. Some is

more real than other ones. We will operate

this year two new lines from France

port of Sete to Algeria to the ports of

Algiers and Béjaïa. We see there a growing

market. We have more new destinations in

focus.


can read the complete interview with

Matteo Della Valle.

All pictures: GNV

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

22 / INTERVIEW

Grimaldi continues

its success story

The Naples-based Grimaldi Group has been growing

continuously for years and is the leading Ro-Ro operator in

the world. After the family-owned company has successfully

put its 14 GG5G-Class Ro-Ro ships into service in Europe

over the past 4 years, the first of a series of 17 of the most

modern car carriers will be put into operation this year. With

its order for 9 new Ro-Pax vessels from China Merchants

Jinling Shipyard (Weihai), Grimaldi is sending a further signal

of progress at sea.

Dr. Emanuele Grimaldi is proud of the

new super luxurious Ro-Pax ships that

will enter service for Finnlines, Minoan

Lines and Grimaldi Lines in 2028 - 2030.

The secret of success is the wonderful

economy of scale of its new fleet that will

more than double capacity, offer very

attractive rates to cargo clients and place

competitors under pressure. Ro-Pax was

in Naples and spoke with Dr. Emanuele

Grimaldi about the activities of the

shipping group.

Ro-Pax: How was the year 2024 for the

Grimaldi Group overall, and where did

you experience some challenges in the

market?

Emanuele Grimaldi: We faced several

challenges during the year. The new

geopolitical context led to increased costs

and disruptions, for instance, for our ships

sailing from the Far East to Europe, that

had to reroute around South Africa and no

longer through the Suez Canal. This

disruption was created by the Houthis

and caused the deterioration of our results

due to the increase of operational costs,

making our business via the Red Sea more

difficult. On the other hand, our short sea

operations performed well. I would say

that also our deep sea services, as far as

West Africa and South America are concerned,

delivered good results. Overall, I

am expecting another good year for the

Grimaldi Group.

″Eco Catania“ // ″Finneco 1“ in Kotka

pictures Grimaldi; Hans Herbert Dünow

Ro-Pax: It’s impressive. If you look to the

problem with the Houthis, do you use

the escort service of the Italian Navy?

Emanuele Grimaldi: When our vessels

were transiting the area, we were very

grateful to the Italian Navy for escorting

the cargo ships present there. We were also

escorted by Greek and French warships,

participating in the multinational

operations “Aspides” and “Poseidon

Archer”. But since the deterioration in the

region began, and most ships decided not

to transit the Red Sea any longer, we also

decided not to sail through the area.

Ro-Pax: You take the long way around

South Africa with higher costs and time.

Emanuele Grimaldi: It costs much more

and the transit time is 10 days more of

navigation, particularly to the Mediterranean.

Ro-Pax: But do you get the money from

your clients? Did they accept it?

Emanuele Grimaldi: With vehicle

manufacturers, you typically have a

long-term type of cooperation. This

requires a strategic, forward-looking

approach, which can be challenging. Of

course, we aim to make them aware that

there is an extra cost. Moreover, for them

it is damaging when they receive their

units with delays.

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

INTERVIEW / 23

Ro-Pax: Starting with the Nordic area,

let’s have a look at the Baltic Sea. You had

a change in the position of the CEO, at

Finnlines. Tom Pippingsköld retired,

and you have appointed Vice President

and Deputy CEO, COO Thomas Doepel

as the new President and CEO of

Finnlines.

Emanuele Grimaldi: Yes, Tom retired and

I thought that we could have an internal

solution. We made the right decision by

choosing Thomas Doepel, who has been

working for many years in the company.

He is very knowledgeable, and I think

all the management is very happy and

proud to have someone that was already

serving the company. I knew he was

talented when he was younger, and I had

invested in him.

Ro-Pax: How do you see the Finnish

market?

Emanuele Grimaldi: I think we should

never forget that the Finnish market was

instrumental for Russia. It has been like

this for many years. The St. Petersburg

market area was very close to the Finnish

market. There was a lot of cargo that was

discharged in Finland whose destination

was St. Petersburg. At Finnlines, we had at

least four ships dedicated to St. Petersburg,

namely the three from the Baltic Service

plus one from Travemünde. Now, this

market is gone. Even the business to the

three Baltic Republics was mostly for

Moscow. Half of what was coming in from

Sweden and the rest of Europe to the Baltic

Republics was destined for Russia. Now,

with St. Petersburg closed due to the

sanctions on Russia, there is nothing left in

terms of trade. The deterioration has been

considerable, and we shouldn’t forget that

the Finnish economy was benefiting from

a lot of Russians who were shopping in

Helsinki and Finland in general. The

relationship between Finland and Russia

had always been good and a lot of people

were coming to Helsinki.

Ro-Pax: But today you are the leader

between Finland and Sweden with your

wonderful new Ro-Pax vessels of the

Superstar class. How do you generate the

cargo?

Emanuele Grimaldi: We probably now

have the best products on the market – the

Superstar Ferries “Finncanopus” and

“Finnsirius”. That said, I think the Star

vessels were also superior to any other

ships previously deployed. But we decided

to move forward and invest in the

Superstar Class, particularly for enhancing

passenger experience on board.

Ro-Pax: Are you satisfied with the results

of the first full year of operation?

Emanuele Grimaldi: Well, of course: the

vessels are a success story, and they deliver

good results.

JPE

Super Star RoPax ″Finnsirius“

Ro-Pax; Are you prepared for when

Russia may come back to the market?

Emanuele Grimaldi: Of course! Today

everything, particularly vehicles, is sold by

Chinese manufacturers. We are not talking

about a small market; Russians purchase

over one million cars per year and their

country is by far the biggest importer of

Chinese cars.

Emanuele Grimaldi and Philip Eckmann

“I really hope, firstly

and particularly for those

people who are dying in

the war between Russia

and the Ukraine, that

peace will prevail.”

JPE

Ro-Pax: Due to the sanctions, Volkswagen

can no longer sell cars to Russia.

Emanuele Grimaldi: We had a contract to

transport over 100,000 Volkswagen cars

per year from Travemünde to Russia. Now

this contract is no longer in place, and

Germany is paying the bill. Due to the

sanctions to Russia, Germans are paying

perhaps double the price for raw materials

like, for example, natural gas. Therefore,

the overall product from Germany becomes

more expensive. This has impacted

very badly on the German economy as everything

has become more expensive. And

what about Italy? When I was in St. Petersburg,

the best restaurants had Italian food.

The best clothing was only from Italy. Russian

people were crazy about Italy. We had

very rich Russians in Italy, but today you

see them in Abu Dhabi or Dubai and no

longer in Europe. They left and we are

losing as a result.

I really hope, firstly and particularly for

those people who are dying in the war between

Russia and the Ukraine, that peace

will prevail. Innocent people are needlessly

dying today: there must be a fair solution

between these two countries. We

should not forget that Russia has deep

European roots.

Ro-Pax: Might it be possible that the

three “Finneco” vessels will sail to St. Petersburg

one day?

Emanuele Grimaldi: Yes, they are made for

that market, they were destined for that

route before the war. We only hope and wait

that there is peace. Then, those vessels will

call in Russia and will bring everything

direct to its market. Probably, if we are

awarded again a contract from one of our

clients, we will put one additional vessel to

sail from Germany. But the rest of the setup

is ready for the day when peace reigns.

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

24 / INTERVIEW

Ro-Pax: You have signed an order for

nine pioneering Ro-Pax ships from China

Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Weihai)

worth a total of $1.3 billion. We spoke

last year about your plans and now they

are a reality.

Emanuele Grimaldi: We have ordered nine

super Ro-Pax vessels; three for Finnlines,

two for Minoan Lines and four for Grimaldi

Lines. The Finnlines vessels will serve

the Travemünde – Helsinki line. The

Minoan Lines vessels will operate between

Piraeus, Milos and Heraklion. Finally, the

Grimaldi Lines ships will operate in the

Western Mediterranean and in the

Adriatic, between Greece and Italy. We will

offer the highest standard, like that of a

cruise ship, and we have further improved

the quality of the interior design on board.

Ro-Pax: The line between Poland and

Sweden is also successful. You have been

operating with one Ro-Pax vessel

between Malmö and Swinoujscie since

last year.

Gianluca Grimaldi, Emanuele Grimaldi and

Diego Pacella

Emanuele Grimaldi: We have the best ship

there. How can Polish operators serve the

lines to Sweden with vessels of 1,000 lane

metres? They earn no money even if they

fill their vessels. We have the same amount

of crew, and we can carry three times what

they can with one vessel. It’s only a question

of time until we get more cargo. In the

future, when the three new Superstar

Grimaldi

″Grande Mirafiori“ PCTC of 20019

“Today we transport

2.000 lorries per week,

with ships which are much

better, which have double

the cargo capacity but

with the same fuel

consumption and the

same number of crew

members compared to

the previous generation

of ro-ro vessels.”

vessels for Finland arrive, we will have two

ships operating on the Poland service.

We would like to work together with

Polferries. They tried also to sell the

company to us, but I understand that

Polish nationalist politicians want to put

the two Polish operators together.

Ro-Pax: Let’s have a look at your new

activity between Turkey and Italy. Did

you have a successful start?

Emanuele Grimaldi: Yes, today we transport

2.000 lorries per week, with ships

which are much better, which have double

the cargo capacity but with the same fuel

consumption and the same number of

crew members compared to the previous

generation of ro-ro vessels. People were

saying that the figures we generated were

not true. The market share growth for

DFDS was 5 percent and in October, when

we started, DFDS was referring to all their

businesses in South Europe, including

France from Mersin, Izmir and the

Marmara region. These are different lines.

In October I was referring to the figures

from the week before, and we got exactly

40 percent of the market share between

Trieste and the Marmara region.

Ro-Pax: You have now 40 per

cent market share? From one

day to the next.

Emanuele Grimaldi: Let me

explain this situation.

Since DFDS acquired

EKOL, a major Turkish

logistics company, other

Grimaldi

New ordered RoPax vessel for Grimaldi Med fleet

Grimaldi

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

INTERVIEW / 25

Turkish logistics companies don’t feel at

ease anymore. Turkish forwarders called

me and asked “Please, please, come in, you

are neutral.” Because really, why would you

trust a company that is also your competitor?

They think that once they are on

board, they will not get the best service,

and that DFDS will always give the

best rates to their own operators. As a

forwarder, how could I trust DFDS who, as

″Eurocargo Cagliari“

a haulier, competes directly with me?

That’s why I never acquire companies

which are my clients.

Ro-Pax: There are rumours going around

that, on this line, you have reduced prices

by 50%?

JPE

Emanuele Grimaldi: Not at all! We reduced

them, probably, by 10%, then DFDS

reduced them by 20%, then by 30%,

because they were losing. They wanted to

keep their smaller ships. We saw invoices

from forwarders of even extremely low

rates which were granted by DFDS. In the

beginning, of course, they tried to resist.

Then they gave fantastic, extremely low

prices, which for them are totally unsustainable

because they are carrying

about 150 units on their vessels, while we

are carrying more than 300 units. We

make six voyages per week with two

thousand units transported; DFDS is

carrying the same volume but using six

ships. Now, I was told that they will

probably reduce the vessels deployed to

five or four units. I don’t know what they

will do. What I know is that this is unsustainable,

because you cannot carry 150

units with low rates. Meanwhile, we are

working hard to reach three thousand

units carried per week. When we get these

one thousand units more, even with the

current rates, it will be okay for us. We

should also keep in mind that now we have

an additional cost, the new FuelEU

Maritime regulation, which comes on top

of those already generated by the ETS. This

will amount to approximately 150 Euro per

unit per trip.

″Grande Tema“



Emanuele Grimaldi.

Bernd Bässmann

Along

Every Voyage

Foreign Trade and novelties, industry and tourism, containers and culinarism.

For Departures and Arrivals. It is Global and Local. It is Port of Helsinki.

We bring people and goods together

to boost sustainable growth.

portofhelsinki.fi

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

26 / NEWBUILDING

Varsovia

Every inch a Visentini

“Varsovia” is a further evolution of Cantiere

Navale Visentini’s so-called ‘Mk II’

platform of which Corsica Linea’s

2022-built “A Galeotta” was the lead

ship. All shortcomings of the earlier

Visentini generations have been addressed

and the Mk IIs are both Safe Return to

Port (SRtP) and SOLAS 2020 compliant.

In essence, the 41,878gt “Varsovia” is a

lengthened near sister ship of “A Galeotta”,

presented in the 2023 issue of RoPax.

Visentini’s new ‘Mk II’ generation represents

a totally new hull platform complying with

both SOLAS 2020 damage stability and SRtP

regulations. Although clearly carrying the

DNA of its naval architects, NAOS Ship and

Boat Design, the new Visentini Mk II-class

was started from scratch.

“A Galeotta” has a length overall of 206.6m

which has been further increased to

216.2m for “Varsovia” with the 28.2m

moulded beam unchanged. These dimensions

come close to what Visentini can

physically build on account of the length

and width limitations of its single building

dock on the one hand and the turning

circle on the Po di Levante River on the

other. The Mk II’s longer and beamier hull

resulted in a higher block coefficient and

displacement. So, one of the main challenges

was to further improve the fuel

economy which was achieved thanks to a

long CFD optimisation process.

While the low block coefficient of

Visentini’s Mk Is was one of the ship’s

strengths, it also proved to be one of its

weaknesses as it didn’t allow for an

extension of the upper decks due to stability

and displacement limitation issues.

This drawback has been fully addressed in

the new design, which allows for an

extension of the upper decks to the ship’s

very aft, potentially increasing the maximum

passenger capacity to 2,000. This

compares to a maximum capacity of 1,000

persons (including crew) for “Varsovia”.

With lessons learned from the Mk I

platform and the lengthening- cumconversion

of “Stena Lagan” and “Stena

Mersey” to double-deck drive-through

mode, the Visentini Mk II has been

designed with a later conversion to

drive-through in mind as the main vehicle

deck is now devoid of the extremely

forward centreline stair casing.

SRTP AND SOLAS 2020 COMPLIANT

To comply with the SRtP and SOLAS 2020

damage stability rules, the lower machinery

and vehicle decks were totally

redesigned. Even long before SRtP rules

became mandatory, NAOS Ship and Boat

Design had already implemented a B/5

double skin spanning almost the full

length of the Visentini Mk Is, protecting

the engine room and all of the ship’s vital

parts from flooding. This has been repeated

on the Mk IIs and although not an SRtP

requirement, the main engines have been

separated from the auxiliaries with four

engine compartments as a result. Although

it is a more expensive solution, this

compartmentation combined with the B/5

double skin is undoubtedly best in class.

Side-hinged cover with ramp leading to the

lowermost car-only deck

Unlike “A Galeotta”, which is owned by

Corsica Linea, “Varsovia” is owned by

Visemar di Navigazione, the shipowning

arm of Visentini, and long-term bareboat

chartered to Polferries. Consequently,

Visentini chose a different engine manufacturer

as “Varsovia” has twin Caterpillar

MaK 12M46DF LNG dual-fuel main engines

with an output of 11,580 kW at 500

rpm each.

A low fuel consumption is at the heart of

“Varsovia’s” design, obviously helped by

the Flex Bow 2.0 stem with integrated

bulb. “Varsovia” frequently operates on a

single shaft with the second propeller

feathering. The ship’s maximum speed is

24.8 knots but during sea trials, a single

main engine provided a 17-knot service

speed at 85% mcr while at the same time

also making use of the full 2,000 ekV

power from the shaft generator.

JPE

Visentini repeated “A Galeotta’s” two-plustwo

auxiliary engine setup with each

genset compartment holding a combination

of dual-fuel Wärtsilä 9L20DF and

MDO-powered Caterpillar 3516C engines.

LNG-READY SOLUTION

For the time being, “Varsovia” is built as

‘LNG-ready’ without LNG tanks and

double-walled pipework installed yet. It

will be retrofitted to LNG propulsion at a

later stage when a single 180m³ Type C

LNG tank and ancillary equipment will be

installed.

Visentini has been hesitant to install LNG

tanks below deck and all three LNGpowered

vessels built prior to “Varsovia”

had their LNG tanks installed ‘on deck’,

notably on the upper freight deck aft. As

Polferries specified a separate open car

deck, Visentini found a compromise; the

location of the LNG tank will be retained,

yet the tank will somehow be covered to

create the upper car deck abaft the accommodation

on Deck 5. Most ferry operators

opt to have the LNG tanks installed below

deck, forward of the engine rooms. This

typically comes at the expense of cargo

intake on the lower decks. Keeping the

tank on Deck 4 aft allows for an optimisation

of the cargo intake on decks 1, 2, and

3 as an LNG bunker station on the latter

deck would impair the trailer lane layout.

By virtue of “Varsovia’s” excellent hydrodynamic

performance, Visentini didn’t opt

for any bells and whistles to further reduce

fuel consumption with ‘standard’ Mariner

spade rudders and Kongsberg controllable

pitch propellers. Kongsberg also supplied

the twin bow thrusters, the combined

output of which was increased to 3,600 kW

to compensate for the larger windage area.

SIMULTANEOUS LOADING

OF VEHICLE DECKS

One of the Visentini Mk IIs USPs is the

fixed internal ramp arrangement, warranting

simultaneous loading of four vehicle

decks, including the lowermost car deck.

As per SOLAS 2020 damage stability

rules, the lower deck and ramp layout on

1. Bridge

2. Captain Olga Sidor and Chief Officer

Michal Domanski

3. Car deck with parking bays for passengers

with reduced mobility.

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

NEWBUILDING / 27

Polferries

1 3

2

pictures: JPE

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

28 / NEWBUILDING

3

4

5 6

1

2

the Mk Is was no longer permitted. However,

NAOS Ship and Boat Design made a

virtue of necessity and found a solution to

retain both a car deck and freight deck below

main deck level without compromising

the intake. The Mk Is typically boasted

a car deck immediately below the main

deck with its access ramp continuing to the

lower freight deck. On the Mk IIs, the

freight deck moved up one deck, to Deck 2

level, and is directly accessed via a single

fixed ramp with a two-section side-hinged

watertight cover. Access to the Deck 1 car

deck is totally separated from that of the

Deck 2 freight hold with the starboard B/5

skin partially holding the fixed ramp with

a single watertight cover.

Up to 112 cars can be parked on the 2.0m

high lower car deck while the lower Deck

2 freight hold has a 327-lanemetre capacity.

The 16m long stern ramp, including 3m

flaps, gives access to the eight-lane,

1,257-lanemetre main deck which has a

5.2m free height. A 52.2m x 4.55m portside

ramp connects the stern ramp with

the fully enclosed Deck 4 which has a

1,193-lanemetre capacity and 5.2m free

height. Up to 98 lanemetres of trailers can

be stowed on this fixed ramp which has

been narrowed from three lanes on the

Visentini Mk Is to two lanes on the Mk IIs,

considerably improving the cargo flow into

the main deck.

A hoistable car ramp connects Deck 4 with

the open aft end of Deck 5. As the LNG

tank will be stowed underneath, it was

pointless to install a tiltable ramp, so it is

hinged at the aft end of the Deck 5 recess.

A total of 102 cars can be parked on the

open deck with six reduced mobility

parking bays giving immediate access to

the main public spaces deck.

ACCOMMODATION DECKS

Visentini ro-pax ferries are not renowned

for their glitzy interiors as utility rules with

functional no-frills passenger facilities.

The general arrangement of the accommodation

decks follows that of the Mk Is. All

public spaces are concentrated on Deck 5

with Deck 6 being the passenger cabin

deck with a total of 202 standard inside

and outside four-berth cabins, four forward-facing

four-berth luxury cabins, and

six four-berth cabins for people with

reduced mobility. Deck 7, the bridge and

crew accommodation deck, holds another

18 four-berth passenger cabins, bringing

the total number of passenger cabins to

230, equivalent to 920 berths.

1. ″Varsovia“ in port of Ystad

2. Bridge

3. Auxillary engines

4. Separator Room

5. Main vehicle deck (Deck 3)

6. Engine control room

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

NEWBUILDING / 29

7. Café area

8. Pullman seats

9. Restaurant

10. Snack Bar

11. Promenade deck

12. Outside four-berth cabin

7 8

Two stair halls divide Deck 5 into three fire

zones. Forward is the large, 490-seat

restaurant area. Hot and cold meals are

primarily served on a self-serve basis with

a single self-service counter just forward of

the main starboard galley. Glass partitions

divide the restaurant into smaller sections,

the 124-seat inboard zone of which

functions as an à la carte restaurant. The

391-seat midship bar lounge connects the

forward with the aft stair hall. The

reception desk is located at its starboard

entrance, just abaft the forward stair hall.

To the aft, there is a small children’s

playroom and a 107-seat recliner lounge

located inboard on the starboard and port

side, respectively. At the very rear of Deck

5, forward of the open car deck, there is a

shop with adjacent games area and mini

casino. The portside mirror view holds a

small quiet lounge with bar.

Philippe Holthof



All pictures: JPE

9

11

10

12

Gothenburg

Stockholm

Fast. Flexible.

Helsingør

Copenhagen

Helsingborg

Malmö

Sustainable.

Rødby

Puttgarden

Gedser

24/7/365 ferry operation with up to 120 departures

between Germany and Denmark every day. This

ensures optimum use of driving and resting times.

Lübeck

Hamburg

Rostock

Berlin

Szczecin

First zero direct

emission freight ferry

deployed soon.

Read more:

scandlines-freight.com

Fast transit to/from Sweden,

Norway + Finland in combination

with Øresundslinjen Helsingør

– Helsingborg or Øresund Bridge.

Highest transport flexibility and

fast roundtrips of equipment /

access to intermodal rail network

in Rostock.

Hybrid ferries equipped with

rotor sails, noice / C02-reducing thrusters and

other sustainable technologies.

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

30 / INTERVIEW

Varsovia

JPE

VARSOVIA DATA SHEET

Designer: Visentini/NAOS

Design: NAOS P401

Owner: Cantiere Navale, Visentini S.R.L.

Operator: Polferries (Polska Żegluga Bałtycka S.A.)

Yard: (Contract) Cantiere Navale Visentini S.R.L.

Yard No.: 237 | IMO: 9990480

Classification: Freight-Passenger /Ro-Pax | Flag: Cyprus

Port of Registry: Limassol | Date of delivery: 1st July 2024

Service: Swinoujscie-Ystad

Sailing Time: 7hrs 30mins approx.

PROPULSION

Main engines: 2x 11,560kW Wärtsilä duel fuel diesel

Total Output: 23,160kw | Total Electrical Power: 7.378kw

Propulsion Gear: 2x Variable Pitch Propellers

Gearboxes: 2x (Information not Supplied)

Auxiliary Engines: 2x 2,000ekW, 1,800rpm (diesel)

2x 1,690ekW, 1,200rpm (dual fuel) 690V/60Hz

Shaft Generators: 2x 2,000ekV, 690V/60Hz

Exhaust Gas Emission Abatement: Scrubber System

Fuel Capacities: 180m 3 LNG | 255m 3 MDO | 940m 3 HFO

2x 1,800kW

Bow Thrusters: 2x 1,800kW/690V/60Hz

Rudders: 2x | Propellers: 2x CPP | Stabilisers: 2x

Design Service speed:24 knots (85% MCR)

Optimum Speed: 16.50 knots | Fresh Water Capacity: 430m 3

CARGO ACCESS

Stern ramps:

Deck 3

2 sections: 1x3m, 2x18m long + 1x13m wide

Deck 5: N/A | Bow ramp Deck 3: N/A | Side ramp (s): N/A

Fixed Internal Ramps: 1x Deck 1-3, L 48.7m x W 3m

1x Deck 2-3, L 47.7m x W 4m

1x Deck 4-3, L 52.2 x W 4.55m

Hoistable Internal Ramp: 1x Deck 4-5, L 28.5 x W 3m

Lift (s): Yes (Passenger) | Lane Width:2.50m-3.50m




Beam:

28.20 m (moulded)

Hull Depth: 9.60 m (to Deck 3), 15.70 m (to weather deck)

Hull Draught: 6.70 m (Design)

Deadweight: 9,386 t


Displacement: Not Supplied


Ice Class: N/A


Total capacity: 976 passengers

Accommodation: Airline Seats: 107

Passenger Spaces - Decks 5 & 6 (See Remarks)

Cabins: 220 (2+2), 6 (RMP), 4 (Luxury), (230 Cabins)

Crew Cabins: 49 single, 2x double, 12x Officers, (65 Crew Beds)

Total Beds: 515

Crew: 64

REMARKS

Building Contract: 31st May 2021 | Keel Laid:20th December 2017

Launched:18th April 2023 | First Sea Trials: 7th April 2024

Maiden Arrival Ystad: 22nd July 2024 | Maiden Service Voyage: 27th July 2024

Class: RINA Ro-Ro Passenger ship, Unrestricted Navigation, AUT-UMS, AUT-PORT,

GAS READY, SRTP, IWS

Number of Complete Decks: 5 | Number of Partial Decks: 3

Sistership: A. Galeotta (NB 238)

The Varsovia is the largest and longest ferry in the Polferries fleet and was the first

completely new ferry to join the fleet in over 20 years.

The Varsovia takes her name from the Polish city of Warsaw

Passenger Facilities:

Deck 5: 138 seat Restaurant, 124 seat A La Carte Restaurant, 78 Seat Restaurant

(Drivers), 125 Seat Restaurant, 82 Seat Pullman Lounge, 391 Seat Lounge,

68 Seat Bar Lounge, Casino, Games Area, Car Garage & Kennels

Deck 6: Cabin Accommodation

Special Thanks must go to Antonio Vatta, Naval Architect & Partner at NAOS for

information and diagrams plus Bartosz Bagiński for kindly supplying exterior images.

CAPACITY OF HOLDS DECK-AREA IN SQM DECKLOAD (TON / SQM) FREE HEIGHT CARS (CEU) LANE METRES FOR TRAILERS TRUCKS

Hold Deck 1: 112 -----

Lower Deck 2:

327lm

Main Deck 3:

1,257lm

Upper Deck 4:

1,193lm

Car Garage Deck 5: 102 -----

Fixed Ramp Dk 3-4: N/A 98lm

Total: Not Supplied Not Supplied Not Supplied 214 2,875 150

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

DATA SHEET / 31

JPE

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

32 / REPORT

All aboard for Interferry 2025,

Interferry’s annual conference

Interferry’s Regulatory Affairs Director,

Johan Roos, will provide a regulatory

update, a key aspect of the conference and

more relevant than ever regarding the

recent IMO decisions. The 2024 Interferry

annual general meeting (AGM) will take

place as well, including the nomination

and confirmation of new directors. A

detailed speakers programme, including

the full lineup of presenters and keynote

speakers, will be announced in July.

Interferry conference 2024 – Flag hand over to Guido Grimaldi, president of Interferry 2025 in Sorrento

the ferry industry worldwide, has chosen Sorrento, Italy for

its 49th annual conference – Interferry2025. Taking place

from 4 till 8 October, this flagship ferry shipping conference

will be hosted by leading pan-European ferry operator and

President’s sponsor, the Grimaldi Group. Interferry2025

promises to attract top-level decision makers from all four

corners of the world as the theme of ‘Connections’ takes

centre stage.

Whether you are a ferry operator or ferry

industry stakeholder, Interferry’s annual

conference is a must-attend, so readers of

RoPax better save the date to meet the

crème de la crème of the ferry industry in

Sorrento. Nothing describes the ferry

industry better than this year’s conference

theme of ‘Connections’ as Interferry2025

will explore the vital role of connectivity in

all aspects of the ferry industry. Whether

it’s bridging geographical gaps, enhancing

customer experiences, or driving technological

innovation such as connecting to

the power grid, connectivity is at the heart

of what the ferry industry does.

Interferry2025 will be held at the Hilton

Sorrento Palace hotel, the congress centre

of which creates an environment conducive

to networking and collaboration. It

provides an excellent space for conference

activities, including Interferry’s enviable

speakers programme, coffee breaks, happy

hours, and the sponsor displays. As

delegates have come to expect, the event

will feature topical speakers and sessions,

including the very popular ferry leaders

panel debates.

On the last day of the conference, the

always-popular technical tour will be hosted

by the Grimaldi Group. Delegates will travel

from Sorrento to the port of Naples on one

of SNAV’s high-speed craft. Before disembarking

the ferry, they will be treated to a

tour of the port while on the water. This will

be followed by a tour on one of the Grimaldi

Group’s ro-pax ferries while at berth.

DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS

Preparations for Interferry2025 are in full

swing as the association’s conference team

is developing another outstanding speakers

programme. Sessions and presentations

will elaborate on the ‘Connections’ theme

in a number of ways including: exploring

ship-to-shore connections relating to

electrification and onshore power supply;

connections encompassing all aspects of

technology on board; ‘ferry sustainable’

sessions highlighting initiatives from small

to large operators; women in the maritime

industry; connecting with customers and

employees; and unique stories of how

ferries connect communities. Both

conference days will conclude with ferry

leaders panels.

JPE

Conference registration for Interferry

members already opened on 1 May.

Registration for non-members will open

on 1 August. Interferry members get a

discounted rate with early bird rates for

member registrations in effect through to

15 August. The demand to participate in

Interferry2025 has never been more

evident by the fact that five months before

doors open, sponsorships and exhibition

spaces were essentially sold out. So, with

the unbelievable interest in this year’s

conference, now more than ever it pays to

be an Interferry member!

Registrations for the conference can be

made on InterferryConference.com with

the possibility to book accommodation

at the Hilton Sorrento Palace hotel. For

complete conference information,

check out the conference website at

InterferryConference.com; follow

Interferry on LinkedIn for news and

up dates; follow @interferryorg on

Instagram; and subscribe to the

Interferry mailing list on the conference

website or on Interferry.com.

INTERFERRY, AND WHAT IS HIGH

ON THE ASSOCIATION’S AGENDA

Acting as the voice of the worldwide ferry

industry, Interferry is a highly respected

global ferry trade association with

con sultative status at the International

Maritime Organization (IMO) and similar

influence at the European Union as well as

many other maritime governance

authorities. With membership exceeding

280 companies and representing plus

2,200 individuals in more than 40

countries, its primary purposes are to

represent the ferry industry on regulatory

and policy matters, including safety and

sustainability; to speak on behalf of the

worldwide ferry sector which provides

transport for over four billion passengers

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

REPORT / 33

and 370 million vehicles annually; and to

facilitate networking and communications

among its members.

For the past eight years, Interferry has

been led by Mike Corrigan who brought

extensive executive experience in the ferry

industry with him as a former CEO of

Canada’s BC Ferries. Johan Roos, the

association’s Regulatory Affairs Director,

joined Interferry in 2011. He’s Interferry’s

eyes, ears and voice on both the IMO and

EU level.

SUSTAINABILITY AND SAFETY:

INTERFERRY’S CORE BUSINESS

At the top of Interferry’s list, it is the IMO’s

and the EU’s green agenda and greenhouse

gas (GHG) strategy that dictates its today’s

agenda as also safety remains a critical part

of its core business.

What follows are a few key topics that have

kept Interferry busy of late.

Onshore Power Supply: There is no silver

bullet to net zero but as ferries typically

cover short distances, they are the prime

ship type to adopt battery technology for

propulsion purposes. Without a doubt, the

ferry sector is a trailblazer in maritime

electrification and hybridisation. To

support a continued high uptake,

governments and electricity utilities

should prioritise investment in Onshore

Power Supply (OPS) infrastructure. Shore

power is a cornerstone of the ferry

industry’s decarbonisation efforts. Interferry

continues to drive home the point

that some of the billions of Euros collected

as part of the EU Emissions Trading System

(EU ETS) should be reallocated to

ports across Europe to help them achieving

this lofty electrification goal. Interferry is

of the opinion that OPS is a very cost-

efficient way to help meet the 2030 decarbonisation

targets and it relieves some of

the ever-increasing demand for yet-to-bedeveloped

low-carbon alternative fuels.

Member States and the EU should therefore

prioritise OPS funding to ports based

on the number of potential ferries that will

be able to connect. This will require close

collaboration between port authorities,

utility companies and local municipalities.

Global fuel standard: During the 83rd

session of IMO’s Marine Environment

Protection Committee (MEPC 83), held in

London in early April 2025, a new fuel

standard for ships was agreed although the

IMO needs to re-affirm this path at an

extraordinary session in October.

As part of the global fuel standard, ships

must reduce, over time, their annual

greenhouse gas fuel intensity (GFI). Long

story short, this is how much GHG is

emitted for each unit of energy used. This

is calculated using a well-to-wake

approach. Ships emitting above GFI

thresholds will have to acquire remedial

units to balance their deficit emissions,

while those using zero or near-zero GHG

technologies will be eligible for financial

rewards. Two GHG Fuel Intensity targets

will apply: a less stringent Base Target and

a more stringent Direct Compliance

Target. Ships that emit above the set tiers

can balance their emissions deficit by

transferring surplus units from other

ships; using surplus units they have already

banked; or using remedial units acquired

through contributions to the IMO Net-

Zero Fund which will be established to

collect pricing contributions from

emissions.

These measures are set to be formally

adopted during an extraordinary session

of the Marine Environment Protection

Committee to be held in October this year

and are expected to enter into force in

2027.

BEVs on vehicle decks: Interferry recently

produced a pamphlet to address common

concerns regarding battery electric vehicle

(BEV) safety on ro-pax ferries. The

pamphlet provides clear, concise information

based on recent research, including

findings from projects such as LASH FIRE,

in which Interferry actively participated.

The core message is straightforward: BEVs

do not present a greater fire risk than traditional

vehicles. They can be stowed safely

next to other vehicles on board a ship’s

vehicle decks, as the fire extinguishing

equipment of a ro-pax ferry, i.e. drencher

system, can handle potential incidents, no

matter if it comes from a BEV or a

traditional internal combustion engine vehicle

(ICEV).

Domestic ferry safety: Domestic ferry

safety remains part of Interferry’s DNA

and core values. As part of its FerrySafe

initiative, Interferry last year partnered

with the IMO to organise and co-host a

two-day Africa Ferry Safety Seminar in

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Building off of

earlier similar initiatives in Bangladesh

and the Philippines, the Africa Ferry Safety

Seminar furthered the association’s

commitment to reducing casualties in

developing nations by promoting the

highest maritime safety standards. While

on the African continent for its last year’s

conference in Marrakech, Interferry

organised a successful workshop aimed at

the African ferry community. A follow-up

conference, co-hosted by Interferry

members Lagos State Waterways Authority

(LASWA) and the Maritime Organization

of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), is

in the pipeline and will be held in Lagos,

Nigeria on 25 and 26 June 2025.•

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

34 / INTERVIEW

The new electric ferry “Futura“

Scandlines continues

its way to zero

emission operations

Scandlines operates the main ferry routes between Germany

and Denmark (Rödby – Puttgarden and Gedser – Rostock).

After Danish press reports at the end of March revealed that

the opening of the Fehmarbelt Tunnel would be delayed by

five years to 2034, and possibly even longer, Scandlines is

re-analyzing its plans and concepts.

The new double-ended freight ferry

“Futura” will enter service during the

peak season 2025, after various events

delayed its delivery by almost a year.

Scandlines has had a new CEO, Eric

Grégoire, since mid-2024. RoPax met

with him and spoke about his ideas and

the future of Scandlines.

RoPax: How was the year 2024 for Scandlines?

Eric Grégoire: We have not published our

results yet, but we are quite happy. I mean,

we fulfilled our budget after many different

difficulties. After COVID there was a

transfer of traffic, so we have a situation

where conditions are relatively unstable. I

think the 2024 figures look likely to

Eric Grégoire, CEO

JPE JPE

indicate a stabilisation of the traffic

between Germany the European Continent

and Scandinavia. We transported a

record number of passengers over the

summer of 2024, more than 2023. The

freight business suffered a little bit due to

the economic situation in Sweden and in

Germany. But we feel that we continue to

get our market share back. The Rostock –

Gedser route showed a good dynamic on

the freight business, which reflects conditions

in Poland, which is doing quite well

compared to Germany.

The Western corridor Puttgarden – Rödby

route is slightly more complex. We saw an

increase of, certainly, what people have

called the “coolcation” as people change

direction to go more to the north, as

opposed to the south. We’ve seen more

“We transported a record

number of passengers

over the summer of 2024,

more than 2023.”

German and Dutch, particularly, coming

to the Nordic countries to spend their

holidays. We have a delay to our full

electric ferry “Futura”. She will arrive at the

latest in June this year. There was a combination

of reasons. We need her for the

high season. The way we’re going to use her

is to absorb more the freight traffic of the

traditional passenger ferries.

In the summer season we need most of the

capacity of our hybrid ferries for passenger

traffic. So, we have to transfer more trucks

from the four traditional ferries, in this

way.

RoPax: What will you do with your old

ferry, the “Kronprins Frederik?”

Eric Grégoire: Actually, we will use her as

a back-up, and we need her partly also at

the weekends between Gedser and Rostock

for the cargo to free up more space on the

passenger ferries there.

RoPax: You started in July last year as the

new CEO for Scandlines. How has this

been for you?

Eric Grégoire: The interesting thing is that

if you look at any companies, the right

leadership is not there to tell people what

to do. The right leadership is to basically

listen to the expert and to analyse an

actionable plan. But that’s why I think it’s

quite interesting, and I’ve done this now

for the 4th or 5th time, going to a

completely different environment. And it

helps me to approach that work without

preconceived ideas because I don’t come

with a baggage of 20 years in industry or

the idea that we have always been doing it

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

INTERVIEW / 35

this way. So, I’m completely open. The

experts are in the business, and I have a

thousand plus people that I can expect to

do what they do with a passion. And what

they need is someone that does that work.

Listen to the organisation.

RoPax: If we look at this phenomena

“coolcation”, do you think that more

passengers will come from the south in

the future?

Eric Grégoire: Yes, in fact, we are thinking

about launching a new product for mobile

homes and caravans. I mean a new offer,

because we recognise that, because of the

way ferry pricing works typically, which is

by the length of vehicle. People with trailers

and caravans must pay a price related

to the lanemetre equivalent. And they are

not necessarily people that can pay the

Scandlines

Doubleend ferry “Deutschland“

″Berlin“ in Rostock Port

JPE

prices of a truck. So, we look at that and

think we have lower traffic periods within

the day. We will call it the sunset travellers’

scheme, if you’re willing to travel at sunset.

Not only will these customers have a nice

experience, but they’ll be also able to travel

at a good price, because we know that the

peak time for the traffic is really between

9am and 7pm each day. We will offer a

specialty purchase for departures early in

the day and early in the evening like sunset

departures. We’re going to try to make sure

those clients with caravans can travel on

the ferry, without paying freight rates.



Eric Grégoire.

Anz. Sylt

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

36 / NEWBUILDING

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

NEWBUILDING / 37

Glen

Sannox

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

Mark Nicholson

38 / NEWBUILDING

Mark Nicholson

CMAL

CMAL

Clockwise: Deck 6 forward observation lounge and deck 5 side lounge

CMAL

Back in December 2012 Transport

Scotland indicated plans for a pair of major

ferry newbuilds for CalMac services.

Little did anyone know that the process

would trigger the start of what has surely

been the most controversial, politically

charged and problematical ferry

project in the UK in living memory.

On 31st August 2015, the then First

Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon,

visited the Ferguson Marine Engineering

(Holdings) Limited (FMEL) shipyard in

Port Glasgow on the River Clyde, and

named the shipbuilder as Caledonian

Maritime Assets Ltd’s (CMAL) preferred

tenderer for the £97m build contract. The

process was not without issue but on 16th

October 2015 contracts were signed between

CMAL and FMEL. The shipyard

slipped into administration in 2019 and

was taken into public ownership by the

Scottish Government that December. It

now trades as Ferguson Marine (Port

Glasgow) Limited. The ferry operator,

Caledonian MacBrayne, has a history that

stretches back more than 170 years,

Engine Control Room

starting life in 1851 as a steamer company

under the name of David Hutcheson & Co.

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS

The steel was cut on 17th February 2016

for the two new ferries being built by

FMEL, marking the start of construction

on the then £97 million vessels. The

ceremony took place at the FMEL shipyard

in Port Glasgow. The keel for Hull No. 801

was laid on 16th June 2016 and in June

2017 the name Glen Sannox was

announced for the ship (Gleann Sannaig in

Gaelic). The original delivery dates agreed

by the shipyard were May and July 2018. By

January 2020 a total of 81 changes had

been agreed with the build; 46 requested by

FMEL and 35 by CMAL. Sistership Glen

Rosa was launched on 9th April 2024. The

delays with the project were really brought

home when that amount of time separated

the two launches. Issues with the design

caused a reduced passenger capacity of 852

from 1,000 as the requirement for 3 bow

thrusters and the LNG system added 200t

to the ship. Additional companionways

also had to be installed after the internal fit

Glen Sannox on its way to Troon

out was at an advanced stage due to a safety

audit in September 2023.

PERSEVERANCE PAYS

Ferguson Marine completed the handover

of the Glen Sannox on 19th November

2024, making her the first dual-fuel LNG

ferry built and operated in the UK. This

took place some 10 years after the process

to build the ships began, 6 years after

delivery was initially planned for and 7

years after her launch ceremony. The delivery

was to CMAL, the government-owned

corporation, which in turn charters the

ship to CalMac for operations. The ship’s

Master, Michael Mackinnon, raised the red

ensign aboard the new ferry, signifying the

completion of the handover. This was a day

that many onlookers thought would never

come but perseverance paid off. The Glen

Sannox is 102.40m long with a beam of

17.00m, a service draught of 3.45m and a

displacement of 4,438.40t at the same

draught. The hull depth to the main deck is

5.95m, the main and upper passenger

decks (Decks 5/6) are 12.200m and

15.150m above the baseline with the top

deck of the bridge (Deck 8) being 20.600m

above the baseline. The 7,272gt Ro-Pax

ferry has a deadweight of 1,273dwt, a net

tonnage of 2,181t and an operational wave

height limit of 4m. The hull has a double

Morag Blair

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

NEWBUILDING / 39

bottom with the machinery spaces (main

engine room/generator room/steering

gear room) are located aft at tank top and

tween deck levels, plus a workshop,

hydraulics room and working air nitrogen

plant. Forward of these areas are various

tanks for fuel, water etc plus the LNG tank.

The ship has a pair of 6-cylinder, 3,000kW

and 750rpm Wärtsilä 34DF marine

engines installed. This model is a 4-stroke,

non-reversible, turbocharged and

inter-cooled dual-fuel engine with direct

injection of liquid fuel and indirect

injection of gas fuel. The engine can be

operated in gas mode or in diesel mode.

The cylinder bore is 340mm, the stroke is

400mm and the piston displacement is

36.30 litres per cylinder. Propulsion is

provided by a pair of 2.60m diameter

4-bladed Controllable Pitch Propellers,

which nominally operate at 225rpm.

The service speed is 14.50 knots with a

maximum speed of 16.50 knots. The

centrelines of the twin propellers are

7.50m apart. Steering is via a pair of

Wärtsilä twisted leading edge high efficiency

flap rudders and two Kongsberg fin

stabilisers are installed. The primary

suppliers of onboard power are a duo of

Wärtsilä 1,200 kVA 6L20 DF generator

sets, each with a 920kW output. Wärtsilä

provided the propulsion machinery

package, and this also included two

auxiliary engines, gearboxes, shaft lines,

seals and bearings, the controllable pitch

propeller systems, tunnel thrusters, the

Wärtsilä LNGPac storage and supply system,

plus extended commissioning and

engineering. For optimum manoeuvrability

the ship has a trio of 620kW Wärtsilä

transverse tunnel bow thrusters and a

480kW aft thruster, combining to provide

a total sideways thrust of 2,340kW. Deck 3

is the main Ro-Ro deck, which is five lanes

wide. The lane width is 2.90m approx. with

600mm spacing between the five car lanes.

Glen Sannox Deckplan

CMAL

″Glen Sannox“

This deck is 90m long and 12.50m wide

with approximately 70m of the main

vehicle deck is enclosed with a minimum

clear height of 3.00m. The maximum deck

load is a total of 16x 44t HGVs and the

main deck axle load is 14t. Stowed above

the main garage deck are two MacGregor

mezzanine decks covering the full vehicle

deck width, designed for cars only and

create Deck 4 when in use. These can be

Morag Blair

individually recessed for increasing the

garage clear height to 5.5m on the main

vehicle deck for trucks at the expense of

car capacity, if the external dangerous

goods area of the deck isn’t sufficient for

the number of high sided vehicles to be

shipped. The clear height of the mezzanine

deck is 2.30m above and below. These two

hoistable decks can accommodate 230

lanemetres, the equivalent of 48 standard

car equivalent units (CEU), so 24 CEU per

platform. Main Deck 3 can accommodate

400 lanemetres or 85 CEU so the total

CEU capacity is 133. Deck 3 can also hold

16 HGVs or a mixture of freight/CEUs.

The stern access to Deck 3 is via a 5m long

hydraulic ramp and the width of the access

is 6m approx. The bow access is slightly

narrower and via a 3.5m hydraulic ramp

that is stowed behind a set of hydraulically

operated clamshell doors and a watertight

door. Deck 5 is the main passenger

deck with the ship having capacity for 852

passengers and 33 crewmembers. Deck 6

offers a forward lounge (The Observation

Lounge) with reclining seating and a partly

covered stern deck. In total, the public area

seating consists of 582 internal seats and

270 external seats plus the passenger deck

area equates to 1,186m2 inside and 441m 2

outside approx. CalMac’s newest ship

quietly entered service at 12.45pm from

Troon to Brodick (75min voyage) on 12th

January in place of the chartered

2,991gt/2019-built Alfred to settle into

passenger service. The official maiden voyage

departure, scheduled as 06.30 from

Troon, departed on 13th January with 104

passengers, and a new era within the

CalMac fleet began. We wish her Captain

and crew all the very best. Andrew S. Cooke



RoPax 14 / 05.2025

40 / DATA SHEET

GLEN SANNOX (Gleann Sannaig)

Morag Blair

GLEN SANNOX (GLEANN SANNAIG) DATA SHEET

Designer: CMAL/CalMac

Owner: Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd

Operator: CalMac Ferries Ltd

Yard:

FMPG – Port Glasgow

Yard No: 801

IMO: 9794513

Classification: Ro-Ro Passenger Ferry

Flag:

United Kingdom

Port of Registry: Glasgow

Date of delivery: 19th November 2024

Service: Troon-Brodick

Sailing Time: 75 minutes (approx.)

PROPULSION

Main Engines: 2x Wärtsilä 34DF

Total Output: 3,000kW/750rpm

Propulsion Gear: 2x 2.60m diameter 4-bladed Wärtsilä Controllable

Pitch Propellers. 225rpm

Gearboxes: 2x Wärtsilä

Auxiliary Engines: 2 x Wärtsilä 1,200 kVA - 6L20 DF -

920kW output

Emergency Generator: 1 x 875 kVA Cummins (Auxiliary) +

1 x Wärtsilä 625 kVA LNG/MGO

Fuel:

3x 620kW Wärtsilä

Bow Thrusters: 1x 480kW Wärtsilä

Stern Thruster: 2 x Wärtsilä

Rudders: Twisted-Leading –Edge High-Efficiency Flap Rudders

Stabilisers: 2 x Kongsberg Fin Stabilisers

Design Service speed: 14.5 knots

CARGO ACCESS

Stern ramp Deck 3: 5.00m wide

Bow Ramp Deck 3: 3.5m wide

Bow Access Deck 3: Clamshell Doors

Side ramp (s): N/A

Internal ramp(s): N/A

Lift (s):

Yes (Passenger)

Lane Width: 2.90m (Deck 3)

Mezz Deck Lanes: 2.55m (based on 1.95m car width)




Beam:

17.00 m

Hull Depth: 5.95 m (to Main Deck)


Deadweight: 1,273 dwt


Displacement: 4,438.40 t



Total Pax Capacity: 852 passengers

Accommodation: See Notes

38

Crew:

Cabins:

38 (Crew)

Beds: 38

REMARKS

Contract: 16th October 2015

Steel Cutting: 17th February 2017

Keel Laid: 16th June 2016

Launched: 21st November 2017

Sistership: Glen Rosa (802)

Spacing Between Vehicle Lanes: 600mm

Passenger Accommodation:

Deck 5 is the main passenger deck with the ship having capacity for 852 passengers

and 33 crewmembers.

Forward on this deck is the self-service cafeteria, complete with a mix of picture

windows, portholes and seating areas. There are further seating areas throughout the

deck, a bar counter aft and windows overlooking the stern. The décor is wood panelling

with various natural shades, parquet flooring throughout and the seating upholstery is

shades of greens, greys and other natural pastel shades. Deck 6 offers a forward lounge

with reclining seating and a partly covered stern deck with red seating. The aft section

of Deck 7 also offers a large amount of external seating, also in red. TVs and USB charging

points are plentiful throughout the internal seating areas. In total, the public area

seating consists of 582 internal seats and 270 external seats plus the passenger deck

area equates to 1,186m2 inside and 441m2 outside approx.

Special thanks must go to Heather Schreuder of Clark Communications (CMAL), Fiona

Borland (CalMac), Hannah Blackford & Jess Murphy of Muckle Media (FMPG) and other

team members who so kindly assisted with information, images and diagrams.

CAPACITY OF HOLDS DECK-AREA IN SQM AXLE LOAD (TON/SQM) FREE HEIGHT CARS 5.5M LANEMETRES HGVS

Hold Deck 1: N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Main Deck 3: 1,155sqm 14t 5.50m (Max) 85 400lm 16

Mezzanine Deck: Not Supplied N/A 2.30m 48 230lm N/A

Total: Not Supplied 14t 133 630lm 16

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

DATA SHEET / 41

42 / REPORT

Stena line

Continuing sustainable development

In the past 5 years Stena Line has taken delivery of five new E–Flexer Ro-Pax vessels on its

routes in the Baltics and Irish Sea and in 2025/26 the two NewMax Class Ro-Ro ships “Stena

Connecta” and “Stena Futura” will enhance freight capacity by 40% on the Belfast-Heysham

link. One of Stena Line‘s central goals is to reduce CO 2

emissions by 30 percent by 2030.

Niclas Mårtensson, CEO

“It was a tough one,

honestly. Much tougher

than expected. I would say,

in all segments when it’s

coming to both passengers

and freight business, we

achieved a better onboard

sales and service result, and

we had more happy guests

than ever.”

Stena Line

The path to this goal involves a range of

activities across many areas, not least the

decarbonisation of the vessel fleet. The

“Stena Connecta” will be the first in the

Stena Line fleet to receive two Rotor

sails. Built by Jinling Weihai Shipyard in

China, the 147-metre vessel will feature

two 28m x 4m Norsepower Rotor Sails

(NPRS), projected to deliver up to 9%

fuel savings on the planned trade route.

Scheduled for delivery to Stena Line

from Stena Ro-Ro in Q4 2025, the ship

will operate on the Irish Sea, between

Belfast and Heysham, where wind conditions

are very favourable for wind

assisted propulsion. Stena Line’s latest

concept for the new generation of vessels

is “Stena Futuro”, a 240-metre-long

Ro-Ro vessel intended for transporting

semi-trailers and cars. In their involvement

with the shipping company

African Morocco Link (AML), the majority

owned Moroccan shipping company

dominates the traffic between Algeciras

and Tangier. Ro-Pax spoke with the CEO

Niclas Mårtensson about the current

situation and the next projects for the

leading Swedish Ro-Pax ferry company.

Ro-Pax: How was the year 2024 for Stena

Line for your ferry operations?

Niclas Mårtensson: It was a tough one,

honestly. Much tougher than expected. I

would say, in all segments when it’s coming

to both passengers and freight business,

“Stena Europe“, “Stena Flavia“

JPE Stena Line

JPE

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

INTERVIEW / 43

we achieved a better onboard sales and

service result, and we had more happy

guests than ever. The business was tough.

The high season for passengers did not

play out as it should in terms of volumes.

It didn’t play out as expected. When we

compared to 2023, we were very close from

a volume perspective. I think we are a little

bit more disappointed than we necessarily

should be because we compared results to

our ambitions and not to the previous year.

Compared to the previous year, I think we

should be quite happy and proud because

2024 was tougher than 2023. I think we

have big regional changes or differences as

well.

Ro-Pax: If we look at the Baltic Sea first

how is the situation there? Did you also

lose cargo volumes between 8%-10%?

How do you see increasing competition

between Sweden and Poland?

Niclas Mårtensson: If we look at the Baltic

Sea it is a tough market for us still three

years down the road after the war started

in Ukraine. It is the downturn in the

financial market, meaning that construction

of the new buildings in Scandinavia

has decreased rapidly. That has a big effect

in the Baltic Sea from a freight perspective.

On the question where you alluded to an

8% to 10% decline in our competitors, I

think we ended up in the same area of

Stena Line

New Concept of Stena Line “Futuro“

decline. Adding to this, we have a situation

with a sharpened competition between our

competitors in the region. But we do

believe that there is a value in what we’re

doing and there is a value of keeping that

position also into the future. Because we

think and believe that the Baltic Sea will be

a fantastic marketplace one day, that’s why

we are hanging in there with our roots. But

it’s absolutely one of the toughest business

areas for the moment. And then just to be

very clear, because you’re asking for the

volumes in Poland, we have two corridors

- one is the traffic from Swinoujscie and

the other from the Gdynia/Gdansk area

where we are operating. But our corridor

will have a negative effect of the price war

in Klaipeda as well. Of course, we do see a

downturn in volumes in Poland as well

because of a lot of the construction works

coming from Poland and the Baltics. For

example, a prefabricated concrete module

for building houses. Yes. It’s a big market in

the Baltic countries, including Poland and

LET’S TIE

THE KNOT

For thousands of years, tying the knot has

served as a way for individuals and families

to merge. We are on the same path; to build

steady bonds that thrive from day one and

grow over time. With several conventional

Ro/Ro and Ro/Pax ships currently in port, our

harbour still has the capacity to welcome

more shipping lines and passenger ferries.

Make our port the hub of your logistics

chain and a safe harbour to call home.

Throw us your hawser and submit your

interest to port@ystad.se and we will

find a way forward together.

www.port.ystad.se

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

44 / INTERVIEW

can do a double trip with our ships per

day. That’s impossible when you sail to

Karlshamn because of the distance. They

are mostly welcome, and I hope they will

contribute to improving the market with

us.

I think just to allow me not to speculate

but reflect, it will be interesting to see how

the Polish government will use Polferries

or Unity Line or a combination of the

operations because they have been talking

about this merger of the two companies

for so many years. It will just be interesting

to see if this is the time when they will

do it, or not.

“Stena Livia“ on its way to New Zealand via Odense stop in the shipyard

we suffer there. But we have also decided

there that we are still operating the most

important link between the Baltic countries,

Central Europe, and Scandinavia and

that’s why we keep our three ships on the

Karlskrona – Gdynia service and will

continue to do so. Our big investments in

the “Stena Ebba” and “Stena Estelle” are

maybe not necessarily paying off right

now, but we do assume they will be around

for 50 years. This is just a small downturn

in a bigger picture that we are living with.

I think we hope for peace not only for the

shipping industry, but for the people in

Ukraine. We can see that the Scandinavian

market is reshaping a little bit quicker from

a financial perspective than the rest of

Central Europe. We do believe that the

construction and investments in both

buildings and infrastructure will come

back both in Sweden, Denmark, and

Norway. That will improve our business

for our Baltic Sea operation.

Ro-Pax: I think if the Ukraine war gets a

peaceful resolution, not the question

how, but if there is peace and there is

investment in this country, I think then

Sweden will also be a supplier. What do

you think about this?

Niclas Mårtensson: No, I think you’re spot

on, Philip. Sweden will take a big responsibility,

but not for some kind of martial

help because that’s not what Ukraine is

asking for. Ukraine is asking for investments.

I know the Swedish society is

willing to not only invest but also reinvest

in Ukraine. And to be frank, I think,

Gdynia is the perfect place because it’s the

closest part to Ukraine if you don’t use the

Black Sea.

“If they start, I will welcome

them into the market

with open arms. That’s

how we are at Stena.

We will always have the

strongest product with

the ‘Stena Estelle’, ‘ Stena

Ebba’ and ‘Stena Spirit’.”

if they start, I will welcome them into the

market with open arms. That’s how we are

at Stena. We will always have the strongest

product with the “Stena Estelle”, “Stena

Ebba” and “Stena Spirit” and the distance

between Gdynia and Karlskrona versus the

distance to Karlshman, we will always have

the best geographical position because we

JPE

Ro-Pax: Let’s have a look at your line

from Travemünde to Liepaja. How is

your position in this market? There is

strong competition on the link to

Klaipeda from Germany. Is your line

affected by this race between the Danes

and Germans?

Niclas Mårtensson: However, we are

losing volume in Liepaja because of the

behaviours in Klaipeda. There are trucking

companies that go from Klaipeda to

Karlshamn or to Trelleborg and then they

drive down with a fixed link instead of

going all the way with us to Travemünde.

I mean our customers, the freight

customers, having tough times because

they have like a margin around one and a

half to two and a half percent and they’re

looking for every single penny. So even if

we have a strong corridor in and out every

week, we still suffer from the behaviours

in Klaipeda. But that’s part of the competition.

I’m not bitter, I’m just concluding

what I see.



Niclas Mårtensson.

Ro-Pax: You have the best position. Polferries

has an interest and would like to

start a new service from Gdansk to Karlshamn.

What do you think about that?

Niclas Mårtensson: I hear a lot of rumours

every day. So, what we will do is of course,

Stena Line

Belfast: “Stena Superfast VII“ and “Stena Embla“

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

NEWBUILDING / 45

Zu den Inseln und Halligen

Fährverbindungen ab Dagebüll zu den Inseln Föhr und Amrum,

ab Schlüttsiel zu den Halligen Hooge und Langeneß

To the islands and Halligen

Ferry connections from Dagebüll to the islands of Föhr and Amrum,

from Schlüttsiel to the Halligen Hooge and Langeneß

TICKETS

ONLINE

FAEHRE.DE

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

www.faehre.de

46 / NEWBUILDING

JPE

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

NEWBUILDING / 47

The Spirit of

Tasmania Story

TT Line Company Pty Ltd – Transport

Tasmania that is owned by the state of

Tasmania and operates under the name

Spirit of Tasmania offers year-round

ferry service between the port of Devonport

and Melbourne. The length of the

sea voyage of Spirit of Tasmania ships

from Devonport to Geelong is 242

nautical miles, or 448 kilometres. “Spirit

of Tasmania 1 and 2” both ferries were

originally built in Finland for Superfast

Ferries in 1998. Both vessels have been

operating for TT Line Tasmania since

2002.

The story of the two RoPax newbuildings

for the shipping company TT Line Company

Pty Ltd - Transport Tasmania with

the current marketing name Spirit of Tasmania

started in 2018. TT-Line Company

Pty Ltd and European shipbuilder Flensburger

Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG)

signed 2018 a contract for the construction

of two new roll on / roll off ships to replace

the current Spirit of Tasmania vessels. The

build contract had approximately 219

million Euros value per vessel in 2018. At

that time TT-Line chairman was Mike

Grainger and the plan was to get the new

buildings to commence operations on Bass

Strait in 2021. But everything turned out

differently than planned. The Flensburg

shipbuilding company had focused on

building large RoPax vessels. However, the

first newbuilding, the “W.B. Yeats,” for

Irish Ferries, in the maximum delivery

size, was a financial disaster for FSG.

Delivery was delayed, and a supplier from

Poland filed for bankruptcy. Construction

of the second major contract, the “Hornfleur,”

for British Ferries, began, but delays

arose. The entire construction project was

a disaster for the client, so British Ferries

cancelled the ship in June 2020. TT Line

Company Pty Ltd had already cancelled its

two RoPax ferries with FSG.

In the previous bidding process, the

Rauma Marine Construction (RMC) shipyard

was among the three best bidders.

After TT Line cancelled the contract with

FSG, discussions resumed and the contract

for the construction of the two RoPax

ferries was signed with RMC in April 2021.

BERTH IN DEVENPORT NOT READY

The construction of „Spirit of Tasmania

IV“ and „V“started in Finland in 2022 and

the first vessel „Spirit of Tasmania IV”

RMC

RMC

”Spirit of Tasmania“ in the dock in Rauma

handed over last September 2024. She was

brought to Scotland in November 2024

before the ice set in in Finland, so that the

special underwater paint wouldn’t be

damaged. Since then, she has been idled in

Leith (Scotland). Her sister ship, Sprit of

“Tasmania V,” completed her first sea trials

off Finland in April 2025 and is nearing

completion. But after delays and cost

blowouts in the build of the vessels, it was

subsequently found that existing berthing

facilities at East Devonport currently used

by the Spirit of Tasmania fleet are

unsuitable for the newer and larger

212m-long (695ft) vessels. Originally the

new terminal at Devonport’s Berth 3 East

was expected to be complete in August

2024, ahead of the already delayed first

ship’s arrival. But a contract failure for the

berths resulted in a 400 per cent cost

increase, prompting the State Government

to propose a temporary terminal at

operator TT Line’s existing Berth 1 East.

That idea was also rejected due to cost and

added safety risks, forcing the State

Government to add another year to the

expected completion date to early 2027.

The delays and cost blowouts led to the

Chair of TT Line Michael Grainger resigning

last August. There is now an order to

two shipbrokers to get a charter for the

new building for max two years. But there

is still a political discussion in Tasmania to

get the vessel down to its homeport.

FORESHIP-DESIGNED FERRIES

Naval architect Foreship supported

TT-Line Company in the building process,

with service provision to include naval

architecture, hydrodynamics, cargo and

passenger service concept development,

and systems engineering. Foreship also

assists in reviewing design documentation,

drawings and plans. One huge demand

was to construct vessel, which are capable

of handling the marine conditions, waves

JPE

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

48 / NEWBUILDING

2

3

4

1

and environmental conditions along the

extremely demanding but essential route

across the Bass Strait. The new dimensions

compare to the old vessels will offer a

much more comfortable crossing in bad

weather conditions due to the fact the

width increase from 25 meters to 31 meters

and the length from 194 meters to 212

meters. The hull design is based on the

Tallink ferry “My Star” but the “Spirit”

vessels have no ice classification. The new

ships have a dual-fuel engine system

consisting of four Wartsila 9-cylinder

turbochargers and can be operated with

LNG and MDO. These engines produce

10,305 kW of power each. They can

maintain an average operation speed of 26

knots. In the high season period they need

the speed to offer tow departure per day

from both ports. Travel time is between 9,5

to 11,5 hours. The 212-m Spirit of

Tasmania ferries have a gross tonnage of

48,000 and accommodate 2,000 passengers

and crew, they are significantly larger by

30% more capacity than their pre decessors.

Both ships have over 2,500 lane metres of

freight capacity, a separate car deck and

301 cabins for maximum 1,800 passengers.

Additional there are 118 standard recliners

and in a separate business class area 47

business recliners.

5

7

6

8

INTERIOR DESIGN BY FIGURA

The very popular ferry interior design

company Figura from Sweden designed

the two Sprit ferries. Richard Nilsson of

Figura and his team created a very local

solution for Tasmanian and Australian

demands. Figura always try to make

contemporary designs that are long lasting

and not short lived and trendy. At deck 8

are the public areas with guest service,

restaurants, café and bar. At the deck 9 and

10 there are the four different cabin

categories.

The biggest restaurant in the front area is

located at deck 8 TMK (Tasmanian Market

Kitchen) it is a contemporary version of a

market kitchen with accompanying

materials, “rustic” timber and copper. In

the midships section a huge café area is

located there near to the guest service

desk. On the starboard side a very nice

vine bar “Huon Lounge” to offer and

promote the local vineries. At the port side

at the same deck the family lounge is

located.

9

1. Family lounge

2. Vine bar Huon

3. Maatsyker Bar

4. Grand Cafe

5 Bridge

6. Port side bridge wing

7. Car deck 5

8. Bridge Monitor control working place

9. Main car deck 3

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

Business lounge area // Walking area between

family lounge and Maastsyker bar

NEWBUILDING / 49

The huge Maatsyker Bar in the rear area is

a more downtown bar design, divided into

two characters with the play of light and

dark timber combination. Outside is a

huge deck for the bar visitors where it is

possible to get also a snack. Deck 8 & 9 was

the idea of designing ”indoor” areas with

an outdoor look and feel. At Deck 10 has

a beach club lounge feeling with an

additional bar. For the well-proven

international ferry rider some components

remember some design elements on the

Stena E Flexer ships.

LOCAL MATERIAL FORM

TASMANIA SOURCED

Both vessels are manufactured with local

materials from Tasmania. More than 6000

lineal metres of Celery Top Pine sourced

from below the waters of Lake Pieman on

the state’s west coast were used as feature

wall cladding on the two semi-enclosed

deck spaces in the rear area at deck 8 and

9.

The vessels have 300 tables in total, which

are produced by 33 different types of

high-quality Tasmanian Oak, Huon Pine

and laminate products. The Handmark

Gallery was awarded the contract by

shipbuilder Rauma Marine Constructions

(RMC) and Spirit of Tasmania to source

artwork for the vessels. Director of

Handmark Gallery and Art Consultant,

Allanah Dopson work with Figura together

to select carefully Tasmanian pieces to

complement different spaces on board.

The 150-year-old Waverley Mills in

Launceston has secured the contract to

supply two types of throw rugs that will

feature on the new Spirit of Tasmania

vessels. The order of 350 wool throws

comprises a travel rug for use in the business

class recliner chairs and a premium

superfine merino throw for the deluxe

cabins.

TOUGH OPERATION

Once regular ship service has commenced,

the ferries will be supplied with LNG in

Devenport, which will be delivered by

truck. However, there will also be an LNG

bunkering facility in Geelong later. The

ferreis have two bow trusters and two rear

truster to manoucer in the narrow port of

Devenport save. To load and unload in

short time there will be three level operations

for main deck 3 upper cargo deck 5

and the car deck at level 7 will be connected

to extra ramps. At deck 6 there is a sepcial

pet area to get dogs in caves which are

monitored. At deck 7 are chargings places

for elctric cars. There are additonal 18

cabins at deck 8 for travellers with pets. In

summer time the operation is very busy

and in off season the strong weather

conditions are a challange for operation. JPE

pictures: JPE

Port of Hirtshals

Your access to and from Norway

and the North Atlantic

Thorlakshofn

Seydisfjordur

Thorshavn

Bergen

Stavanger

Kristiansand

Larvik

Port of Hirtshals is located close to one of the

busiest motorways of the sea between the

North Sea and the Baltics. The port offers

regularly services to Norway, the

Faroe Islands and Iceland.

The p0rt is connected directly

to motorway E39.

PORTOFHIRTSHALS.DK

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

50 / DATA SHEET

Spirit of Tasmania IV

RMC

SPIRIT OF TASMANIA IV DATA SHEET

Designer: RMC

Owner / Operator: TT Line Co PTY Ltd

Yard: (Contract) Rauma Marine Constructions OY (RMC)

Rauma, Finland

Yard No.: 6009 | IMO: 9936587

Classification: Freight-Passenger /Ro-Pax

Flag: Australia | Port of Registry: Devonport

Date of delivery:12th September 2024

Service: Geelong (Victoria) - Devonport (Tasmania)

Sailing Time: 9.5-11.5 hours

PROPULSION

Main Engines: 4 × Wärtsilä 9L46DF

Power Output: 4x 10,305kW (41,220kW)

Propulsion Gear: 2x twin variable pitch propellers

Gearboxes: 2x Reduction Gearboxes 600/144 RPM.

Auxiliary Engines:

Total Power Output: 3x Wärsila 6L34DF, 1,377kW (4,131 kW)

Exhaust Gas Emission: 2x Exhaust gas boilers, Alfa Laval

Abatement:

Fuel:

MGO + LNG

LNG Storage: 2x 400cbm type C LNG-tanks

Bow Thrusters: 2x2,200 kW, Kongsberg

Stern Thrusters: 2x 1,100 kW, Kongsberg

Rudders: 2x CXP, Kongsberg

Stabilisers: 1 pair, SKF, S7000

Design Service speed: 26 knots

Trials Speed (Max): 31.5 knots

CARGO ACCESS

Stern ramps:

Deck 3: 2x, MacGregor | Deck 5: 1x, MacGregor

Bow ramp Deck 3: 1x , MacGregor

Side ramp (s): N/A

Internal ramp(s) : Deck 3 to Deck 5, Tilting ramp 1x, MacGregor

Lift (s): 3x Passenger) and 2x Service lifts

Lane Width: 3.50m




Beam:

31.00 m (moulded)

Hull Depth: 9.90 m (to Deck 3)


Deadweight: 6,869 t


Displacement: N/A t

Net Tonnage: 20494 t

Ice Class: N/A


Total capacity: 1,800 passengers

Accommodation:

Cabins: 301

Recliners: 118

Business Recliners: 47

Beds: 1172

Crew: 81

REMARKS

Contract Signed: April 2021 | Keel Laid: 28th October 2022

Launched: 27th October 2023 | Sea Trials: June 2024

Delivery: 12th September 2024 | Laid up at Leith December 2024 after departing Rauma

Class Notations:

Machinery: |LMC UMS, BWTS, LFPF(GF,NG), NAV1, IBS, PCAC2,2

Hull: 100A1 Roll On-Roll Off Passenger Ship, Movable Decks, ShipRight(SDA, CM,

ACS(B)), *IWS, LI, ECO

The interior designs of the Spirit of Tasmania IV and V are by Figura, a Gothenburgbased

architectural firm specializing in ferry interiors. The exterior design and ship construction

were handled by Rauma Marine Constructions, also known as RMC, in Rauma,

Finland.

Pet Kennel on Deck 6 with video cameras, which offer passengers traveling with pets

the ability to access a live video link via an app during the crossing, unless they opt for

one of the 18 pet-friendly cabins located aft on Deck 8. Deck 7 has 20x EV charging

points. Deck 3 has additional clear height for high cube containers on trailers.

Hold Deck 1 has a lift for 1x Stores Trailer. The Trailer is lowered from Deck 3.

Special Thanks must go to Hanna-Kaisa Koskinen At RMC Finland

for kindly supplying information plus Kieran Lewis for one image.

CAPACITY OF HOLDS Deck-area in sqm Deckload (ton/sqm) Free height Lane metres for cars Lane metres for trailers Trailers

Hold Deck 1: 4.60m 18 1x Stores

Main Deck 3: 4.60m 1290 71

Upper Deck 5: 4.80m 1261 70

Car Garage Deck 7: 2.80m 1,273lm

Mezzanine Deck 6: 2.20m 396lm

Total: Not Supplied Not Supplied 1,598lm 2,569lm 142

(600 cars) (18lm = 1 Trailer)

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

DATA SHEET / 51

52 / INTERVIEW

Polferries

modernization,

consolidation

to Polsca

The first new RoPax of Unity Line JANTAR UNITY will sail with the new brand ″Polsca“

Polferries Polferries

In 2024 the Polish state-owned ferry

operator Polferries got a new RoPax

ferry from Italian Visentini yard

“Varsovia” for operation between

Świnoujście and Ystad. The vessel is a

success and delivers good results. RoPax

visited the old and new CEO Piotr

Redmerski in headquarter of Polferries

in Koloberg and spoke with him about

the future of the Polish ferry industry.

Polferries was founded 1976 in Koloberg

a nice little town at the seaside between

Świnoujście and Gdynia. Actual

Polferries operates two lines between

Poland and Sweden. At the route

Świnoujście to Ystad the two RoPax

ferries “Varsovia” and “Mazovia” operate

and between Gdansk and Nynäshman

with “Nova Star” and “Wawel”. The ferry

“Cracowia” is chartered to Algerian

operators in the Med to serve the route

Marseille (France) to Algier (Algeria).

The former “Baltivia” well known as

“Saga Star” was sold to Georgian owners

to operate between Batumi (Georgia) and

Constanta (Romania) at the Black Sea.

After Piotr Redmerski came back on his

position as CEO, he restructured the fleet

and reduced the number of ferries

operating at the two lines from six vessels

to four. A next big step will be to renew the

offer of Polish operators Unity Line (Polska

Żegluga Morska Group and Euroafrica

Shipping Lines) and Polferries (Polska

Żegluga Bałtycka) to a new partnership

under the common brand POLSCA Baltic

Ferries to be strong against the western

competitors. The cargo market between

Poland and Sweden was in the past years

the strongest growing cargo market in

Europe. Due to a slower growing economy

and the Ukraine war market growth

stopped, and operators are faced with a

decrease in volumes. The new competition

is very hard by more capacity and the new

line of Finnlines between Świnoujście and

Malmö came not in the best time. Piotr

Redmerski thinks the best option for

Polish Ferry Operators is to get five of its

new RoPax vessels in operation to be more

competitive. The two existing Organizations

of Unity Line and Polferries will

continue and after regulatory approvals

step by step administrative services will be

merged to get a saving effect.

ŚWINOUJŚCIE – YSTAD

At the line between Świnoujście to Ystad

the high demand days are Monday,

Tuesday, and Wednesday. There is a need

to optimize the traffic together with Unity

line to offer attractive schedule and price

level. New buildings will come from Polish

Remontowa shipyard two for Unity Line

and one for Polferries in the future under

the brand Polsca. With these ferries the

Polish Operators will get much more

capacity. They will offer over 4.100-lane

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

INTERVIEW / 53

meter space per vessel (200 truck capacity)

and will accommodate 400 passengers.

The new ferries of Unity Line will also

serve port of Trelleborg. Polferries will get

its new RoPax end of 2025 or beginning of

2026. Today 95% of the cargo is accompanied

trucks only 5% are unaccompanied.

Piotr Redmerski sees a change to more

unaccompanied trucks. With this change

the chance for intermodal traffic will increase

but there are some actions needed

to improve the rail tracks in Poland. The

“Varsowia” has capacity of 3.800-lane

meter and is well booked and can

accommodate 160 trucks. It was a fast

decision to get new tonnage into the fleet

due to the long construction time of the

new buildings from Poland. The feedback

of the clients is very good, and they hope

to generate a good result this year. The fuel

consumption is very efficient. In one year,

they transport 100.000 passengers at the

line. The second vessel “Mazovia” has

capacity for 130 trucks and for 1.000

passengers. The motorway connection to

Świnoujście will be ready second half of

2025. The outlook to generate more trucks

via Poland to Sweden is positive. Today

Turkish trucks also use the east corridor

and there are more and more Turkish

trucks at the Polferries vessels. Piotr

Redmerski pointed out there was a plan to

open an intermodal connection between

Piotr Redmerski, CEO of Polferries

Czech Republic and by a Świnoujście

freight operator. But the service for app 40

trailers is not open yet. The main issue is

the rail track network in Poland to operate

the trains with a good speed there must be

invested in the network.

GDANSK – SWEDEN

The cargo volume between Gdansk and

Nynäshamn is not huge enough to fill

every day a departure. That’s why they are

thinking about the new connection to

south Sweden. Piotr Redmerski sees a big

chance to generate more cargo traffic on

an additional line. Berth of Polferries is

better located to the motorway as the port

of Gdynia. There is preparation to open an

intermodal connection to Gdansk to use it

for the traffic to Sweden. A very positive

effect will be Polferries can offer in the

Polferries

future two destinations from one terminal

to Sweden. Between Gdansk and

Nynäshamn there are 80% accompanied

truck and 20% unaccompanied trailers.

NEWBUILDING

The Polish government didn`t accept to

order new vessels in China and they

finance it by much more better conditions

as the Chinese’s shipbuilders and banks.

They have a low interest rate and state

guarantee. 2021 both operators Unity Line

and Polferries ordered three new buildings

at Remontowa shipyard. The first one

should start operation for Unity Line

under the new Polsca brand mid of 2025.

SUMMER LINE

Piotr Redmersky thinks about a summer

fast ferry between Koloberg and island

Bornholm. It is the shortest connection

between continental Europe and Bornholm.

There was a connection in the past.

The motorway between Warsaw and

Świnoujście will be ready mid of 2025 and

Koloberg has also a direct connection to

the motorway. The port is not huge enough

to accommodate big RoPax vessels but a

fast catamaran with less than 100-meter

length could operate from that port. Piotr

Redmerski looks positive into the future

despite all challenges and the hard competition.

JPE

Bergen

Stavanger

Kristiansand

Oslo

Hirtshals

Efficient

and reliable

sea transport

Daily between

Denmark and Norway

Contact us at

freight@fjordline.com

1946781669_NO_Freight_178x126.indd 1 09/05/2025 13:12

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

54 / INTERVIEW

DFDS strong move forward

DFDS continues to grow by opening new routes in the Mediterranean and along the Atlantic

coast, and by taking over the island supply of the Channel Island of Jersey. In 2024, the

company generated revenues of over €4 billion, of which €2.3 billion came from ferry and

RoRo shipping and €1.7 billion from logistics.

DFDS is one of the leading freight forwarders

in Europe with one of the largest

electrified truck fleets and intends to

continue growing in both areas. Its entry

into traffic between Spain and Morocco

two years ago was a success, and despite

the new competition between Italy and

Turkey, the company considers itself well

positioned. RoPax spoke with Mathieu

Girardin, Executive Vice President for

DFDS‘s Ferry Division, about the current

challenges.

RoPax: How was the year 2024 for DFDS?

Mathieu Girardin: It has been a challenging

year. From a financial perspective, we

are not where we want to be. Even though

most of our business is performing well

considering the increasing competitive

markets and overcapacity in some areas of

our network, we have some specific

challenges that we need to solve. But we

have still managed to secure organic

growth in line with our strategic priorities.

In our Ferry Division, we grew our freight

volumes by four percent growth and On

the passenger side, we have increased

volumes by 7.4 percent. This is a positive

foundation to build on.

″Kattegat“ and ″Tarifa Jet“

pictures: JPE

RoPax: Last year, you announced this

moving together towards 2030s strategy

is the idea you will combine more of this

short-seat shipping activities with

logistics. Do you see out of these strategy

the first results?

Mathieu Girardin: With the expansion of

our network in recent years, especially in

2024, with the acquisition of FRS Iberia –

Maroc and the acquisition of EKOL

Logistics international transport network,

we have strengthened our network considerably,

offering a stronger product to

our customers as we can combine ferry,

road and rail transport as well as

supplemen tary logistics solutions This is

relevant both for the top tier customers but

also for the long-tailed customers. Further

unlocking the synergies, is a clear ambition

as we continue to execute our 2030

strategy.

RoPax: Okay. If we look into your actual

figures we see a little bit a dip in

earnings. Did you invest too much in the

last years?

Mathieu Girardin: Our previous strategy

was about growing our network. Our new

strategy Moving Together Towards 2030

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

INTERVIEW / 55

our focus is to unlock the value of

our expanded network and deliver

strong products and service to our

customers.

RoPax: Where is in the future the target?

Will you invest more in logistics and

warehouses and supply chain? Or do you

look also to expand more in the shipping

fleet?

Mathieu Girardin: No, this is not our

focus. We believe that we have a strong

network in and around Europe. Our

strategy is to unlock the value through

organic growth and move forward with

our green transition.. The green transition

will require investments in new, low

emission vessels in the coming years and

we have committed to launch six

alternatively fuelled vessels by 2030, or

otherwise to achieve the equivalent

emissions-reduction target. These

newbuildings include two battery-electric

vessels for our Channel routes, two Ro-Ro

vessels for our routes in the North Sea, and

two methanol-fuelled Ro-Pax vessels for

passenger services. However, uncertainty

about fuel availability and technical

maturity means that this is subject to

change as we get wiser about the most

cost-effective and operationally reliable

way to decarbonise our vessels.

Mathieu Giradin, Executive Vice President for

DFDS‘s Ferry Division

“We have committed

to launch six alternatively

fuelled vessels by 2030,

or otherwise to achieve

the equivalent emissionsreduction

target.”

JPE

RoPax. If you look at the Baltic Sea, you

see more competition. How’s your

position today?

Mathieu Girardin: The over-capacity

situation in the Baltic Sea is essentially

caused by the lack of demand. Several

factors are causing this: The tragic war in

Ukraine, and low consumption of slow

moving goods and a challenged construction

sector in Sweden. But we are

starting to see a rationalisation of capacity

levels which is a positive development.

RoPax: Are you prepared when the

market will be back? What do you think?

Do we have a scenario that you have

enough capacity?

Mathieu Girardin: We do not know when

this will happen. But I’m not worried

about the capacity. We operate 75 vessels.

If we see strong demand on one market,

we have the flexibility to move a vessel to

cater for that demand.

RoPax: How’s your train running, which

you introduce between Vlaardingen and

Lodz?

Mathieu Girardin: The concept is running

very well. It is a partnership with the

Agromex Polish exporter, and since we

launched the service, the capacity and the

frequency of the train keeps increasing.

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RoPax 14 / 05.2025

56 / INTERVIEW

″Flandria Seaways“

That’s a great success and we want to

continue to grow this type of intermodal

solution. This offers a strong springboard

for developing our presence in Poland in

the coming years. We believe Poland will

play an important role as a corridor

between Central / Eastern Europe and

Scandinavia in the future, especially as the

regionalisation of trade flows will continue

in the coming years, and therefore Poland

is an important strategic market for DFDS.

RoPax: The service from Kiel to Trelleborg,

which you published last year, was

it only a test or does you looking deeper

in this case?

Mathieu Girardin: We conducted berthing

trials in Trelleborg in December last

year, but for now our plans are on hold because

the market is slower than expected,

and construction and the slow-moving

consumer goods sector has not picked up

in speed yet.

RoPax: I think you have still a good

business between Sweden and UK with

the industry contracts. How is the

service running in these challenging

times?

Mathieu Girardin: We have a resilient

business model in the North Sea, combining

ferry and end-to-end road and rail

transport solutions. The model ensures

stable freight volume flows to our routes,

and it enables us to offer reliable and

efficient asset-backed customer solutions.

Last year, the slowdown in the automotive

sector led to lower volumes, but overall the

business remains stable. The size of our

vessels makes our services competitive,

while we still have room to grow.

RoPax. If we look to the channel I think

there is a little bit more hard competition

around. How is you’re position there

because you’re running the French flag

you have still French crew on board. You

can keep your volume?

DFDS

“We have a resilient business

model in the North

Sea, combining ferry and

end-to-end road and rail

transport solutions.”

Mathieu Girardin: We can keep our

volumes and even increase our market

share on the Calais route. We will continue

to operate on French flag on the Calais

route,we will continue to operate on

British flag on the Dunkirk route and this

will not change since we have strong commitment

with both our French and UK

colleagues and authorities.. Last year, our

competitors each took out one vessel

which is certainly good for the supplydemand

balance.

RoPax: At the end you have now only

one competitor there and not two

DFDS

because they are together now in this

corporation.

Mathieu Girardin: Yes they are together

operationally and as you know in this type

of agreements they have to stay completely

independent commercially. We believe

we offer a strong product with six vessels

and a high frequence of departures, as

well as a coverage of both Calais and

Dunkirk on the French side.

RoPax: You won the tender for channel

island Jersey and you started end of

March the new service. How is your

opinion?

Mathieu Girardin: We started our

services on March 28 in Jersey. We now

deploy two high-speed crafts, one RoPax

and one RoRo vessel. This is a lifeline

service and we know the importance of

delivering reliability and an enhanced

travel and transport experience for islanders,

businesses and visitors.

The contract runs for 20 years and we

have committed to invest in three new

vessels, and we are very excited about the

journey ahead with Jersey and the local

community.

RoPax: Do you will promote then also

the destination Jersey in your marketing

organization to bring more tourists to

the destination?

Mathieu Girardin: Absolutely and that’s

of course one of the strengths we can

offer, due to our strong network and

organisation in Europe and UK. Tourism

and hospitality are important parts of the

local economy in Jersey and the region.

We will support connectivity with short

travel time and meet demand with the

right frequency of ferries.



Mathieu Girardin.

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

INTERVIEW / 57

OVERSEAS PORT

OF ROSTOCK

The intermodal hub

intermodal-rostock.de

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

Opening new horizons

58 / NEWBUILDING

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

NEWBUILDING / 59

Saint-Malo

Ferry Operators constantly strive for the

optimum in versatility and efficiency and

in 2014 the E-Flexer Class was created

with Stena Line, Deltamarin (Marine

Architect), Stena Teknik, Figura (Interior

Designer) and Weihai Shipyard in China.

To further enhance the flexibility, the

E-Flexer design allows the ship to be

built to differing lengths and with/without

cabin accommodation.

EVOLUTION BY DESIGN

Brittany Ferries is the trading name of the

French shipping company, BAI Bretagne

Angleterre Irlande S.A. founded in 1973

by Alexis Gourvennec. Ferry operations

began on 2nd January 1973. The

24,534gt/1989-built Bretagne took over

the St.; Malo route in 1993, making it her

own for 31 years.

The original E-Flexer design footprint was

214.50m long, LNG ready and 41,671gt

with 175 passenger cabins and capacity for

1,000 passengers, 120 cars in their own

garage on Deck 7 and 3,100 lanemetres of

freight. The Stena Estrid was the first

example delivered in 2019 for Stena Line’s

Holyhead-Dublin service (Hull No. 263).

The E-Flexer series attracted the interest of

ferry operators and Brittany Ferries was

the first of these to receive a newbuild.

Hull No. 267 was delivered to the French

operator on 3rd September 2020 on

long-term charter, named Galicia, for the

Spanish routes from Portsmouth. The 6th

ship in the series was the first LNGpowered

example and the second ship for

charter to Brittany Ferries. The 41,716gt

Hull No.269, delivered December 2021,

was christened Salamanca and entered

service on the Portsmouth-Bilbao route on

27th March 2022. Brittany Ferries’ third

Flexer, the 41,716gt/LNG-powered

Santoña (Hull No. 272), was delivered

January 2023 on long-term charter for the

Spanish rotations.

A FUSION OF TECHNOLOGIES

On 22nd July 2021 Stena RoRo announced

orders for the construction of the 11th and

12th E-Flexer ships from CMI Jinling

(Weihai), for delivery in 2024-25 and

long-term charter contracts were signed

with Brittany Ferries for these. Thes would

replace the Bretagne and the 27,541gt/1992

Normandie. Hull No. 275 would be for the

Portsmouth-Ouistreham (Caen) service

with Hull No. 278 for the Portsmouth-St.

Malo link. These newbuilds are being

19.80m shorter than the original 214.50m

All photos in this article: Andrew Cooke

Sun Deck, Bridge, engine control room

E-Flexer, at 194.70m, the maximum for the

ports of Ouistreham/St. Malo. Whilst

continuing the LNG trend set by the

Salamanca and Santoña, Nos. 275/278

would also have a battery hybrid capa bility,

bringing this technology to an international

ferry route from the UK for the

first time. The two new ferries have a respective

capacity of 2,377 and 2,517

lanemetres, and 1,290/1,400 passengers

whilst their onboard layouts differ to

reflect the demands of both routes. Both

ships are equipped with a large 11.5MWh

battery hybrid package for propulsion and

manoeuvring in port, making them the

largest battery hybrid ferries in the world

thus far. They are also equipped with an

8-megawatt electric shore connection for

charging the batteries. Yard No. W0278

had her steel cut on 2nd September 2022,

the keel laying took place on 29th June

2023 and the launch was on 7th October

2023. Delivery followed on 15th October

2024. The Saint-Malo was officially

welcomed into the leet on 5th December

when re-flagged and re-registered to

Morlaix. The Saint-Malo was christened

on 31st January at the Brittany port and

her godmother was Nathalie Mercier-

Les 8 Tresors Lounge sundeck

Perrin, president of the French Maritime

Cluster. The ship officially entered full

passenger service on 12th February from

Portsmouth. The Saint-Malo’s machinery

spaces are on Deck 1 and Deck 2 (Tween

Deck) and the hull has a double bottom.

The control room for the machinery spaces

is located aft on Deck 2. The two engine

rooms are offset and located aft, with Engine

Room 1 to port, containing a Wärtsilä

12V46DF/ 13,740kW output at 600rpm

main engine and two 1,680kW Wärtsilä

9L20DF LNG auxiliary generators. Engine

Room 2 has an identical main engine and

single generator. The main engines are

each linked to a Flender gearbox with

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

60 / NEWBUILDING

3

4

1

2

extra-large 4,650kW PTO/PTIs, necessary

for hybrid operation. PTO means Power

Take Off, and PTI is Power Take In. These

terms describe how energy is transferred

between the engine and other systems

onboard ship. PTO uses engine power to

drive other systems, such as the electrical

system, air conditioning, or hydraulics and

can also be used to generate electricity. PTI

uses electrical energy to drive the main

engine in terms of a temporarily boost to

the power or an emergency backup if the

main engine fails. PTO/PTI systems allow

the electric drive to operate as either a

motor or a generator. Whilst the ship is at

sea the hybrid battery system can be

charged. The batteries are situated in two

rooms on each side of the ship, forward of

the engine rooms and outboard of the two

huge Wartsila 550m³ double walled LNG

tanks (above), which were manufactured

by Zhangjiagang Furui Cryogenic

Technology Co. There are around 130

tonnes of batteries from the Leclanché

Navius MRS-3 system in conjunction with

Wartsila, providing 11.5 MWh of power.

The battery system is scalable, which

means that in the future the Saint-Malo

can operate entirely on batteries or on a

combination of these and different fuels.

The Navius MRS-3 system has been

specifically designed for the supply of

on-board energy storage in marine

applications. It comprises the latest

Leclanché M3 Energy battery modules

fitted with proprietary high energy and

high lifecycle G/NMC cells, a Functionally

Safe Battery Management system and is

assembled into a scalable and modular

rack system. Each module has dedicated

liquid cooled plates for more efficient

thermal management and a longer system

lifetime. This liquid-cooled technology

also permits significant system weight

savings, and a more compact footprint

compared to an equivalent capacity

air-cooled system. The batteries are

generally kept within their optimum

performance levels of 25%-85% with

electric propulsion engaged at the push of

a button when sailing to/from port. For

optimum manoeuvrability the ship is fitted

with three transverse tunnel bow thrusters,

namely two 2,400kW Wärtsila WTT24 CP

and one 600kW unit.

5

A HYBRID WITH HERITAGE

With a length of 194.70m, a 27.80m beam

and a 6.60m draught, the Saint-Malo is

chartered to Brittany Ferries for 10 years

with a purchase option after 4 years. The

customised layout onboard been designed

to suit both the shorter length of ship and

1. Les Planches Bar Lounge Deck 8

2. Deck 7 La Plage

3. Battery Banks Deck 1

4. Deck 6 Couchette Deck above Deck 5

5. Wärtsilä 12V46DF Main Engine – Deck 1

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

NEWBUILDING / 61

the route served, where cabins are a higher

priority to freight capacity. This has been

demonstrated by the additional deck of

cabins on Deck 6, made possible by a

reduced clear height of 2.20m for the

upper vehicle deck (Deck 5). The aft

section of Deck 7, which is a car garage on

several of E-Flexers, offers cabins on the

Saint-Malo. Above on Deck 8 aft can be

found the Commodore Class Cabins and

the 64 seat Les 8 Trésors deluxe lounge/

restaurant/sun deck for Commodore

guests. The aft area of Deck 9 above offers

passenger cabins plus crew accommodation.

The Bridge are situated forward of the

crew area. With over 380 passenger cabins,

the Saint Malo has the most cabin capacity

of any E-Flexer. Something unique to the

Saint-Malo is an Exhibition Area midships

on Deck 6 that includes an homage to the

Bretagne and an array of heritage representing

Brittany and Brittany Ferries,

including paintings, photos, images etc.

The ship’s public internal spaces are on

Decks 7 and 8. The reception desk is

located port side on Deck 7 with seating

for 93 passengers, an entrance to the

Duty-Free Shop (starboard side) and stairs

to the bar on Deck 8. Forward from here,

the shop is to the right and, beyond the

seating area, is a Wellness Room on the

port side. The walkway then leads to the

346 seat Le Litoral Restaurant (A La Carte),

overlooking the bow. Leading aft from the

main stairway adjacent to Reception is a

walkway towards the stern deck featuring

a Destination Library and 128 seats at

tables in twin booths recessed into the

walls. Two workstation areas are also

screened from passers-by. At the stern is

the colourful La Plage Lounge, a unique

area to this ship. The passenger spaces on

Deck 8, except Les 8 Trésors are forward of

the main stairway. The Breton-themed

Breizh ma Bro bar is here beneath a large

centrally positioned skylight running the

length of the bar lounge. Forward of the

bar to starboard is the 189-seat Le Jardin

Restaurant serving of hot/cold food and

drinks. Le Jardin occupies the area of the

Driver’s Restaurant and Hygge Lounge on

other E-Flexers. Overlooking the bow on

Deck 8 is the 163-seat CClub Lounge

(Club Class), which is available at a supplement.

Just aft of here is a 97-seat lounge area

on the portside. Overall, the internal

passenger areas offer 1,315 seats with the

sun deck on Deck 10 providing 203 seats

in two main areas. Moving from top deck

to bottom deck, Deck 1 provides a 345

lanemetre capacity Freight Hold on the

original ships but the Saint-Malo has only

a 15m long and 3.5m wide trailer lift, located

forward on the starboard side of Deck

3, for use by trailers bound for the stores/

cool rooms on Deck 2. Deck 3 is the main

freight/vehicle deck with a capacity of

1,127 lanemetres for freight, a clear height

of 5.20m and an offset centre casing,

meaning 3 lanes up to 3.10m wide on the

port side and four on the starboard side.

Deck 5 is the upper car garage with a 1,394

CEU lanemetre capacity for 250 cars and a

clear height of 2.20m. The offset casing

continues here with standard 2.40m wide

car lanes starboard side and wider 3.00m

lanes on the port side for larger/wider

SUVs.

Commodore Class Cabin Deck 8 Exhibition Area – Deck 6

IDENTICAL YET INDIVIDUAL

The 36,668gt Guillaume de Normandie has

a 1,310-passenger capacity, a 460-car

capacity and a 2,390lm capacity for freight.

The ship has 220 passenger cabins

(including 21 pet friendly cabins). The

accommodation also includes a unique

mezzanine level midships (a small Deck 6

pod) on the starboard side containing 78

dormitory couchettes in two Couchette

Plus areas that flank a 100-seat lounge

exclusive to couchette Users. The

couchettes are arranged in alcoves of four,

each with a privacy curtain, individual

lighting and storage. The price of the

Couchette Plus includes access to a lounge

equipped with sofas, armchairs and TVs,

as well as hot drinks and snacks dispensers,

a water fountain etc. Toilet facilities for all

areas are also available. The clear height on

Deck 5 beneath the pod on 2 lanes is

2.20m, so for cars only. The ship is an

homage to Normandy and the bronze

horse and foal transferred from the

Normandie are on display at Reception on

Deck 7. The décor and floor coverings are

in shades of green to replicate fields and

countryside whilst one of the seating

designs resembles a rustic garden chair.

There is no Commodore Class lounge but

there is a new 30-seat dining concept,

called Café du Port, located on Deck 8,

port side. On the Saint-Malo, this area is

an extension to Le Jardin (133 seats on the

newest ship). The 345-seat waiter service

restaurant on the Guillaume de Normandie

is the Riva Bella, carrying a name forward

from the Normandie’s self-service eatery.

The 236-seat Deck 8 bar lounge is called

Les Planches. The Guillaume de

Normandie’s hybrid technology and overall

set-up matches that of the Saint-Malo

and she entered service on 18th April on

Portsmouth-Caen. Andrew S. Cooke

Le Jardin Deck 8



RoPax 14 / 05.2025

62 / DATA SHEET

Saint-Malo

Andrew Cooke

SAINT-MALO DATA SHEET

Designer: Deltamarin/Stena RoRo

Interior Designer: Figura Arkitekter AB

Owner: Stena Ro-Ro AB | Operator: Brittany Ferries

Yard:

AVIC Weihai, Shandong Province, China

Yard No.: W0278 | IMO: 9946336

Classification: Ro-Ro Passenger Ferry | Flag: French

Port of Registry: Morlaix | Date of delivery: 15th October 2024

Service: Portsmouth-St. Malo

Sailing Time: 11hrs (Night) 8hrs (Approx.)




Beam: 27.80 m | Hull Depth: 9.50 m (to Deck 3)


Deadweight: 5,269 t | Gross tonnage: 36,965 gt

Light Ship Tonnage: 16,725 t

Net Tonnage: Not Supplied

Ice Class: N/A

PROPULSION

Main engines: 2x Wärtsilä 12V46DF main engines

Power Output: 27,480kW (2x 13,740kW) @ 600 rpm

Propulsion Motors/Shaft Generators: 2x 4,500kW electric (PTO/PTI)

Battery Manufacturer: Leclanché – Navius MRS 3

Battery Capacity: 11.5 MWh

Propulsion Gear: 2x*Caterpillar Feathering Controllable-Pitch Units MPP

1410f (PB58547)

Gearboxes: 2x Flender Units

Auxiliary Engines: 3x 1,680kW Wärtsilä 9L20DF LNG powered units

1665kW/1200rpm. Fuel type: Gas/MDO

Emergency Generator: 1x *S12A2-M(P)TA (Mitsubishi Turbocharger

and Engine Europe B.V)

Fuel:

LNG/MGO

Bow Thrusters: 2x 2,400kW Wärtsila WTT24 CP and 1x 600kW

Rudders: 2x MM-Offshore twisted leading edge high lift

Stabilisers: 2 x Fin Mitsubishi Stabilisers

Service Speed: 23 knots | Speed on Battery Power: 17.5 knots

LNG Storage: 2x Zhangjiagang Furui Cryogenic Technology LNG tanks

LNG Capacity:2x 550m3 tanks (1100m3 total) | MDO Capacity:600m3

CARGO ACCESS

Stern ramps: Deck 3: Yes | Deck 5: Small hinged extension

Bow ramp: Deck 3 Clamshell doors & internal ramp

Deck 5: Hinged weather door

Side ramp (s): N/A | Internal ramp(s): Internal hoistable ramp,

port side | Lift (s): Yes (Passenger) | Lane Width: 2.50m


Total capacity: 1,290 passengers

Accommodation: See Notes

Cabins: Passenger Cabins: 387 | Pet Friendly Cabins: 28

Passenger Beds: 1,445 | Crew: 110

Crew Cabins: 90 | Crew Beds: 110

REMARKS

Vessel Class: E-Flexer (Custom Design) | Building Class: DNV Ice Class 1C

Final Class: Bureau Veritas | Building Project No: 4787

Contract Signing: 22nd July 2021 | Steel Cutting: 2nd September 2022

Keel Laying: 29th June 2023 | Launch Date: 7th October 2023

Sea Trials: 6th June 2024 | Maiden Service Voyage: 12th February 2025

Number of Decks: 10 | Number of Passenger Decks: 5 incl. Sun Deck

Additional deck of cabins (Deck 6) as the upper vehicle deck (Deck 5) is reduced

height for cars only.

Vehicle Deck Access:

The Deck 3 stern ramp/door has a clear width of 17m (shore end of ramp is 12.50m

to fit the berth at Portsmouth), a length of 7.30m plus 2.60m flaps.

The bow ramp/door has a clear width of 5m, a length of 16.20m and 1.50m flaps.

The shell doors at the bow are of the clam shell type. The ramp flaps fitted throughout

the ship are MacGregor “soft flaps” that greatly reduce the noise of vehicles travelling

over them and the entire cargo access system is from MacGregor.

Access at the stern on Deck 5 is via a hinged platform on the weather deck upon which

a shore ramp rests, and the bow access is via a hydraulic weather door with a clear

width of 5m and a 2.20m clear height.

Special Thanks must go to the Brittany Ferries Press Office for kindly supplying

information and images.

CAPACITY OF HOLDS Deck-area in sqm Deckload (ton / sqm) Free height Cars 5.5m Lane metres Trailers

Hold Deck 1:

N/A

Main Deck 3:

1,127lm

Upper Deck 5:

1,394lm

Car Garage Deck 7:

N/A

Mezzanine Deck 8:

N/A

Total: Not Supplied 2,521lm

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

DATA SHEET / 63

64 / INTERVIEW

JPE Peter Therkildsen

Molslinjen has ordered two electric ferries

for its Alslinjen and Samsølinjen operations

but both vessels are delayed from the

shipyard in Turkey. The delay is now

forcing Molslinjen into a ferry reshuffle,

which will allow both routes to function as

the summer season gets underway. This

means that Alslinjen will have to wait to

get its electric ferry, and that Samsølinjen

will get Alslinjen’s electric ferry initially.

The first electric double-end ferry in

Denmark is the ‘Nerthus’, which was built

for Alslinjen. It is expected to be put into

operation in summer 2025 but firstly on

the Samsø line. RoPax spoke with the CEO

of Molslinjen, Kristian Durhuus, about the

new ferries and the successful services.

RoPax: How was the year 2024 for

Molslinjen overall, for both Bornholmlinjen

and your other lines in Denmark?

Kristian Durhuus: Our figures are not yet

finalised and published but what I can say

is that on Bornholm we had record figures

again, more than two million passengers.

It’s also going quite well for our other

routes, and on our Fanö route we also had

about two million passengers. Our three

state concessions routes Alslinjen,

Samsölinjen and Langelandlinjen are quite

stable. They are going well. I can say,

totally, that we expect to get above 15

million passengers on all routes in Molslinjen,

including Öresundlinjen.

Molslinjen –

good results and

new electric double

end ferries

Molslinjen is the leading ferry company in the Nordic region

and is among the world‘s largest fast ferry companies.

Molslinjen currently operates a fleet of over 21 ships including

some of the world‘s largest catamaran ferries, cruising at

speeds of up to 40 knots (that‘s 75 km/h). On the ØRESUND

LINE, the world‘s largest battery-powered ferries sail on a

high-frequency ferry route. Molslinjen is owned by EQT and

is part of Nordic Ferry Infrastructure, which has a fleet of 100

ships, operates 63 routes and conveys 25 million passengers

annually.

RoPax: That is a good result for 2024. We

are very interested in the electric double

end ferries from Turkey. How is the

schedule with the delivery and how will

you operate them?

Kristian Durhuus: The present schedule

was officially communicated here last

month because it’s the public tender, so we

expect that the first ferry will be operational

on Samsölinjen in the middle of June and

the other one will be operational on the

Alslinjen probably in autumn 2025. The

delivery of the latter will be in August, but

then it takes some time to test it and get it

approved.

RoPax: You could be happy, because you

are the first to get your vessel, whilst

other operators that ordered new vessels

at the same shipyard have experienced

delays of one year. What is your impression

in terms of the reason for this very

late delivery?

Kristian Durhuus: The earthquake in

Turkey is a major factor plus a huge

competition around labour in Turkish

shipbuilding. There are 32 shipyards in the

country. Some were pure repair yards and

started to build new vessels as well, hence

the quite high level of competition to get

workers for each shipyard.

RoPax: How will you operate the new

ferries in electric mode? Will there be a

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

INTERVIEW / 65

change in the schedule or will the timetable

be at the same level as with the old

conventional ferries?

Kristian Durhuus: No, the schedule will be

the same, the main difference is that we’re

rebuilding the shoreside infrastructure at

all four ferry terminals. We set the charging

installation on, and we build completely

new harbours because the new ferries have

a slightly different size in terms of beam

and length. The ferries are bigger than the

old ones. They will be electrical and

therefore CO 2

neutral. Of course, we

expect to be able to increase the passenger

figures on both routes. It’s the same schedule

on both routes, which is very peak time

orientated around the summer season,

holidays and weekends. The first newbuild,

the “Nertus,” has been out on trials but

before we introduce the ferry into traffic,

and sell tickets, we need to set up

everything and complete the intensive

testing. You know, it’s always the long list

of minor things that must be fixed before

placing a newbuild into service operation

that can create issues.

RoPax: If we look at your service to

Bornholm, you have made a fantastic job

there. The port of Ystad reports every

year an increase in passenger volumes.

Do you have any plans to operate low

emission craft there also?

Kristian Durhuus, CEO

Kristian Durhuus: We cannot make plans

ourselves because we have a contract that

runs several years until 2030. It’s basically

on a concession with Danish State. It’s their

demands in the next tender that will bring

decisions as to what happens on Bornholm

next. We cannot do it in isolation, only in

cooperation with our contract partner. We

operate the route, and we show every year

it is a success. I think when we started

operating in 2018 the average price of a

ticket was reduced by 51%, based on the

lower operating costs in our contract offer.

We also invested a lot of money in new

Molslinjen

catamarans and a Ro-Pax ferry. We have

since welcomed a lot more passengers on

board.

RoPax: On your Öresundlinjen (Helsingborg-Helsingör)

service you have

launched a new on-board service

concept, featuring refurbished public

accommodation introduced last year.

How is the feedback and the results from

this?

Kristian Durhuus: We invested in a total

refurbishment of the passenger accommodation

on our two biggest ferries, the

“Tycho Brahe” and “Aurora,” in cooperation

with the Finnish design company. The

service is running very well after we rebuilt

the ferries completely, they look like new.

Then we opened a new restaurant on the

“Tycho Brahe,” which was in March last

year, and we refurbished the existing

restaurant on the “Aurora”. I can say

everything is working very, very well. We

have a double-digit growth in passenger

numbers that now frequent our restaurants.

We also have a double-digit growth

in the figures for the shortest minicruise

on Earth where passengers go back and

forth without going ashore in Denmark or

Sweden. We have a huge increase in this,

it’s better than we even have expected.

RoPax: Thank you for the conversation.

Hogia’s focus on long-term

relationships is evident in our

20+ years of partnership. We

trust them to continue providing

BOOKIT as a strong reservation

system, meeting our needs now

and in the future.

Mark C. Wilson

President and Chief Executive Officer

Bay Ferries Limited (BFL) and Northumberland Ferries Limited

hogiaferrysystems.com

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

66 / INTERVIEW

Funnel of ″W.B. Yeats“

JPE JPE

Irish Ferries grew its operating profit

marginally in 2024 despite the closure of

Holyhead Port for a period late last year.

The reopening of the facility in January

marked a return to a more normalised

market. For the year, ICG recorded an

operating profit of €69.1 million, up 1%

from €68.4 million in 2023. Profit before

tax was €62.2 million, a slight decrease

from €63.3 million the previous year.

Irish Ferries reported strong volume

growth across all market segments and

noted “significant progress” toward

returning to pre-COVID levels of

passenger traffic.

RoPax spoke with Andrew Sheen,

Managing Director of Irish Ferries, about

the positioning of this agile and

forward-thinking company.

A STAR RETURNS –

RENAMED JAMES JOYCE

Andrew is proud to get back the former

Star which was on charter for 20 months

for Irish Ferries and back to Tallink group.

Now Irish ferries purchased the cruise

ferry from Tallink Hansaway Limited, she

has been renamed James Joyce and is the

largest cruise ferry on the Irish Sea, with a

capacity for more than 2,000 passengers,

2,380 lane meters for cars, coaches, and

freight vehicles and the largest shopping

space on the Irish Sea, with more than

17,000 square feet. The James Joyce was

built in 2007 in Finland by Aker Finyard,

the same shipyard as the innovative RoPax

ferry Ulysses. One of the most exciting

features of the James Joyce is its available

speed. With a possible top speed of 27.5

knots, it is the fastest cruise ferry with the

largest passenger capacity on the Irish Sea.

The much-lauded ship will operate on our

Dublin – Holyhead route, alongside

Ulysses and complemented by their seasonally

scheduled fast craft, the Dublin

Swift.

Irish Ferries

hidden champion

Continental Group (ICG) is the leading Irish-based maritime

transport group. The company operates eight ferries under

the brand Irish Ferries on routes between Ireland, Britain

and Continental Europe. The group operates eight container

feeder vessels and also container terminals in the ports of

Dublin and Belfast. The Group also carries out ship chartering

activities.

GREEN FUEL HVO

For Andrew as a former Chief Engineer

there has been a lot of discussions about

the fuel of the future, the management of

Irish ferries decided to go forward with

good innovative solution for its Dublin

Swift service on the Dublin–Holyhead

route to use Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil

(HVO) supplied by Circle K, Ireland’s

leading fuel and convenience retailer.

Dublin Swift travels between Dublin and

Holyhead in just 135 minutes making it

the fastest service across the Irish Sea.

Over the season, Irish Ferries aims to ramp

up usage of HVO as a diesel alternative to

100% on all four engines, which would

result in up to 90% less carbon emissions

compared to conventional diesel. This is

part of Irish Ferries’ broader strategy to

adopt cleaner energy solutions that reduces

the impact of its operations on the

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

INTERVIEW / 67

environment and is a testament to the

company’s proactive approach to integrating

cutting-edge technologies and

sustainable practices. HVO is a completely

fossil-free biofuel made from waste

by-products and derived products not

intended for human consumption from

the food industry. It can be used to power

diesel vehicles, which means it does not

release any additional carbon emissions

into the atmosphere and is a cleaner and

more sustainable fuel option. By utilising

HVO, Irish Ferries is not only reducing its

carbon emissions but also contributing to

the circular economy by repurposing

waste materials.

DOVER – CALAIS

Irish Ferries operates between Dover and

Calais in strategic agreement with P&O

Ferries a very successful service with hourly

departures from both ports. In June

2024 Irish Ferries took over Spirit of

Britain from P&O with a much higher

capacity than the former vessel the Isle of

Innisfree. The idea of collaborating with

P&O was born out of increased frequency,

flexibility and reduced dwell time for

freight customers. Isle of Innisfree has

moved to the Rosslare to Pembroke route.

According to Andrew Sheen, the volume

on direct connections between Ireland and

the European continent is higher than

Philip Eckmann and MD, Andrew Sheen

before Brexit. Irish Ferries can offer complete

transport on both the UK as a land

bridge (Calais – Dover and Holyhead to

Dublin and vice versa) and on their direct

route from Dublin – Cherbourg where

they are also increasing frequency can

capacity by offering daily departures in

both directions. Irish ferries and P&O

Ferries emphasised that despite the shared

capacity, all commercial activities remain

under the control of each individual ferry

operator.

For the season 2025 Irish Ferries has

launched a Coach Scan App. to make the

journey even easier for those travelling in

coach groups on Dover – Calais route,

which is available in both English and

French. This enables coach drivers, travel

reps or organisers to scan passports or ID

cards of all passengers travelling in the

group prior to arrival at the port,

facilitating a faster, seamless check-in

experience.

DUBLIN – CHERBOURG

The company’s flagship, the W.B. Yeats,

remains a favourite among passengers on

the Dublin–Cherbourg route. Passenger

numbers continue to grow during peak

seasons, while freight volumes continue to

grow, to support this growth, Irish Ferries

is boosting frequency and capacity with

the Isle of Inisheer, now running a daily

back-to-back service on the route.

According to Andrew, Irish Ferries is

committed to capitalising on market opportunities

and sustaining its growth momentum

through strategic investments in

the fleet.

JPE

JPE

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

68 / REPORT

Ports Report

Rosslare’s First SmartPort – Brock Solutions Revision

Rosslare Europort, operated by Iarnród

Éireann, Ireland’s national railway operator,

has become the country‘s leading

ferry port. Serving over 800,000 passengers

and handling 515,000 tonnes of

freight annually, the port has seen a

remarkable transformation post-Brexit.

Previously a modest ferry port with routes

to Wales and France, Rosslare has experienced

a 330% increase in volumes, solidifying

its position as Ireland‘s leading

port for direct RoPax sailings to Europe.

Today, Rosslare offers 36 sailings per week

to destinations including Cherbourg,

Dunkirk, St Malo/Roscoff, Bilbao, Pembroke,

and Fishguard. The port serves five

major shipping operators: Stena Line, Irish

Ferries, Finnlines, DFDS, and Brittany

Ferries, and is currently managed by Glenn

Carr, Director of Commercial Business

Units for Iarnród Éireann.

Iarnród Éireann has also announced

ambitious plans to transform Rosslare

Europort, its surrounding area, and the

southeast region into Ireland’s Offshore

Renewable Energy (ORE) Hub. This significant

venture is expected to create up to

2,000 jobs, positioning the port to effectively

manage any potential shifts in freight

traffic away from the UK land bridge. While

current freight volumes remain stable, there

is optimism that trade between Ireland and

other regions will continue to grow.

BECOMING A “SMART PORT” TO

MEET POST-BREXIT NEEDS

In response to increased freight volumes,

Iarnród Éireann developed a masterplan

with an investment of approximately €350

million to better support its freight

Scan Entry System for Truck drivers

JPE

Main Gate for trucks

customers and handle the growing

volumes. Construction began in 2023,

with a strategic plan that included a significant

investment in a digitization program

aimed at eliminating labor-intensive

tasks, automating end-to-end operations,

and supporting data-driven decision-making.

To bring this vision to life, Iarnród Éireann

partnered with Brock Solutions, a global

systems integrator, known for their

expertise in real-time operational solutions

for industrial and transportation sectors.

In response to Rosslare’s needs, Brock

Solutions has delivered a SmartPort, a

proven solution for the ferry/RoRo industry.

The implementation of SmartPort has

been pragmatic and thorough, involving

two key steps for each module installation:

1. Analysis and Planning: All port

business processes, and site-specific

requirements were analyzed to tailor the

solution to match the unique operational

needs of the port. This included working

the ferry lines at the terminal and ensuring

the new solution would integrate

seamlessly with their systems, thus bringing

additional benefits to the ferry lines

and Rosslare.

2. Digital Test Run: Before full implementation,

a digital test run was conducted to

validate the solution. This involved a

thorough review with all stakeholders to

ensure the system met their needs and

expectations.

SmartPort offers four key modules: load

management, gate operations, yard

management, and quayside planning.

These modules are fully integrated with

interfaces to ERP and ferry operator

booking systems to standardize manifest

processing, automate invoice generation,

and enable free-flow gate operations.

THE IMPACT OF DIGITIZATION ON

BOTH PORTS AND SHIPPING LINES

According to Carl Coates, ICT Business

Relationship Manager at Rosslare, and Li

Lu, a project manager from Brock

Solutions, SmartPort has demonstrated

significant improvements in Rosslare’s

operational performance. Since implementation,

both the port and several of its

shipping line operators have realized faster

turn times, reduced yard dwell time,

improved freight tracking, smarter load

management, optimized staffing, and

improved data-driven decision-making.

Free flow vehicle processing and streamlined

check-in at the gate has reduced the

number of stops freight drivers must make

from three to just one, cutting down checkin

times from approximately four minutes

to just 2.5 minutes, a remarkable 40%

improvement. It has also reduced traffic

congestion, minimized idling, and lowered

emissions, contributing to noticeable

environmental benefits.

Despite the port‘s long history of using

conventional paper-based methods, stakeholders

have adapted to and embraced the

SmartPort system and are looking forward

to the next steps in its development. JPE

JPE

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

REPORT / 69

Lehmann Group Expands Fleet

The Lehmann Group from Lübeck

currently operates 11 “mini bulkers” on

European routes and, at its home base in

Lübeck, currently operates four port

terminals for handling RoRo, containers,

and bulk cargo.

In an interview with RoPax, the two

managing directors, Henrik Lehmann and

Sven Lohse, reported stable business

performance in 2024 regarding shipping

activities. The Lehmann shipping company

currently charters only 30% of its

cargo on the spot market, with the majority

covered by long-term contracts. The

newbuilding “Marie Lehmann,” ordered in

2020, was successfully commissioned in

2025. The Lehmann Group, together with

the Royal Bodewes shipyard, secured a

further contract for two newbuildings

shortly before Christmas 2024. Compared

to the “mv Marie Lehmann”, the two

innovative 5700 dwat vessels will be 7

meters shorter at 99.95 meters in length,

featuring a deeper cargo hold and, most

importantly, a single cargo hold, offering

greater flexibility. Fuel consumption will

be lower than that of the current vessels

thanks to the straight stem. Furthermore,

the newbuilds will have the highest ice

class 1A rating among coastal motor vessels.

Delivery is scheduled for Q4 2027 and

Q2 2028. Another challenge is crewing,

which is currently very tense due to a

shortage of personnel on the market.

Today, combined transport trains are

connected via the CTL in Lübeck three

times a week via the Bode forwarding

company to Hallsberg and Rosersberg in

Sweden. There are also direct connections

from the CTL to Verona in Italy via TX-

Logistik. The well-known issues that we

described in recent issues of RoPax regarding

the Lübeck location, such as the

deepening of the Trave, the expansion of

the Elbe-Lübeck Canal, rail transport, and

the abandonment of single-wagon transport

by Deutsche Bahn, have unfortunately

not been resolved to date. In the area of

sustainability, there are current plans to

equip some of the halls at the Lehmann

Terminals with photovoltaic systems in the

future, so that the green electricity can be

used primarily for internal consumption.

Planning for the port expansion on the

Trave River, Lehmann Kai 1+, is also

ongoing, and the outlook for next year is

optimistic. The group is also continuing to

grow in the concrete plant sector.

In 2024, the Lehmann Group entered into

a cooperation with GP Papenburg.

Together, they currently operate a total of

10 concrete plants from Bargteheide and

Lübeck to Stralsund. The company is

Sven Lohse und Henrik Lehmann

currently marketed under the name “GP

Hanse Frischbeton GmbH & CO KG.”

On April 1, 2026, the Lehmann Group,

which has been owned by the Lehmann

family for four generations to date, will

celebrate its 100th anniversary. JPE

Hans Herbert Dünow

JPE

PORT HANDLING INCREASED

SLIGHTLY

Port handling increased slightly in 2024

compared to 2023, with a total of approximately

2.1 million tons transported over

the quayside. Nevertheless, cost pressure

remains very high, especially in the

personnel area. To counteract the shortage

of skilled workers, the Lehmann Group

has been actively training employees for

years. The group currently has 15 young

people in vocational training or on dual

study programs. The RoRo, pulp, and bulk

cargo segments were very stable in 2024,

while the paper segment declined somewhat,

not least due to the strike in Finland

at the beginning of 2024. Container

throughput volumes continued to develop

positively, with weekly departures from

the CTL in Lübeck to Antwerp.

The young management team is also somewhat

concerned about the current development

in combined transport (CT),

which is currently shrinking again and is

partially being shifted back to road, not

least due to increased track costs and

unreliability for customers. Due to the

resulting cost pressure on CT operators,

transport is being bundled even more and

certain routes are being discontinued.

Anz. LHG

YOUR TRANSPORT.

Besuchen Sie

uns auf der

transport logistic

Stand Nr. 124

in Halle B3

Auf uns ist Verlass. In Sachen Pünktlichkeit, Sorgfalt, Sicherheit.

Lager- und Transport-Lösungen für Ihre Projekte.

Ihr größter deutscher RoRo-Hub an der Ostsee:

Hochfrequente Seeverbindungen in den Norden – Ihr Tor nach

Skandinavien und ins Baltikum

Auf Schiene oder Straße – Ihre multimodale Anbindung

nach Mittel- und Südwesteuropa

Alles aus einer Hand – Ihr Logistik-Partner auf ganzer Strecke

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

70 / REPORT

Seehafen Kiel JPE

Richtung Baltikum und im Papiergeschäft.

In den nächsten 5 Jahren investieren wir

weitere 70 Mio. Euro in diesen Hafenteil.

Mit der der nun kommenden Erweiterung

um 6,5 ha werden wir dann innerhalb von

zwei Jahren allein die Hallenkapazitäten

um noch einmal mehr als 10.000 m²

erweitern. Mit den zusätzlichen Flächen

wird es auch eine Umstrukturierung des

Kreuzfahrtgeschäftes vor Ort geben: Neue

Wege, mehr Platz und eine klarere

Trennung von Fracht und Kreuzfahrt.

Aber die Erweiterung und die neu geschaffenen

Flächen bieten eben auch in anderer

Hinsicht neue Möglichkeiten – hier sind

wir in Gesprächen.

RoPax: Ist Kiel hier gut vorbereitet für

weiteres Wachstum und sehen Sie mögliche

Potentiale?

Dr. Dirk Claus: Ja, das sind wir. Die neuen

Flächen bieten uns erstmals seit Langem

die Möglichkeit neben den bisherigen

Projekten auch neue umzusetzen. Die

Kiel – Kontinuierliche Innovation

Der Seehafen Kiel steht für kontinuierliche Innovationsentwicklung

und einer ungebrochenen Dynamik. Kiel ist jetzt

schon der führende Hafen mit den meisten Landstromanschlüssen

in Europa bzw. von der ganzen Welt. Vor allem

bei Kreuzfahrern und auch Fährreedern beliebt durch eine

schnelle und unkomplizierte Abfertigung. Der Hafenchef Dr.

Dirk Claus steht für diese Dynamik und die Innovationskraft,

RoPax war in Kiel und sprach mit ihm über die nächsten großen

Projekte im Hafen.

RoPax: Wie ist das Jahr 2025 für den

Seehafen Kiel gestartet? Im Jahr 2024 ist

der Frachtumschlag leicht zurückgegangen,

gibt es schon Anzeichen einer positiven

Veränderung?

Dr. Dirk Claus: Das vergangene Jahr war

ein insgesamt durchwachsenes Jahr für

den Kieler Hafen mit einem leichten Minus

im Vergleich zu den Vorjahren. Auf

der Route Richtung Baltikum waren die

Ergebnisse positiv, aber gerade die Fähren

Richtung Norwegen und Schweden standen

unter dem Eindruck einer schwächelnden

skandinavischen, aber auch

deutschen Konjunktur. Dieses Jahr liegen

wir im ersten Quartal leicht über dem

Vorjahresniveau. Die großen Trends des

Vorjahres bleiben aber die gleichen. Das

gilt auch für die hohe Nachfrage nach

Seereisen, wovon wir natürlich auch in

dieser Saison profitieren. Wir rechnen in

den kommenden Monaten erneut mit

einer Mio. Kreuzfahrtpassagieren in Kiel.

RoPax: Der Ostuferhafen bekommt

mehr Flächen und die Erweiterung auf

dem alten Kraftwerksgelände ist auch in

Planung. Können Sie uns erklären, wie

die nächsten Schritte aussehen und wie

die Gesamtkapazität des Hafenteils bei

komplettem Umbau sein wird?

Dr. Dirk Claus: Der Ostuferhafen ist mit

500.000 m² unser flächenmäßig größte

und auch mengenstärkste Umschlagsterminal

in Kiel – und ein wichtiger

Knotenpunkt für die Frachtströme

Mobile Landstromladestation

Nachfrage nach Lager- und Logistikflächen

am Markt ist generell hoch. Aber

natürlich sind wir auch mit unseren

langjährigen Kunden im Austausch zu

möglichen Kapazitätserweiterungen. Das

Papiergeschäft aus Schweden hat beispielweise

gute Perspektiven durch neue

Papiermühlen in Obbola. Wir sehen hier

Potenziale,daher ist diese Flächenerweiterung

ein so wichtiger Schritt für den Kieler

Hafen.

RoPax: Wie sind die Planungen und die

Maßnahmen, um im intermodalen

Verkehr wieder attraktiver zu werden?

Die Zahlen sind in den letzten Jahren

leider zurückgegangen.

Dr. Dirk Claus: Der Intermodalverkehr

hängt massiv vom deutschen Schienennetz

ab. Und auch wenn dieser Bereich im

vergangenen Jahr bei uns rückläufig war,

Dr. Dirk Claus

JPE Seehafen Kiel

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

REPORT / 71

ist Kiel grundsätzlich gut aufgestellt: Die

Anlage am Schwedenkai ist konzipiert

worden für 40,000 Einheiten. Viele Einheiten

sind aber auch zuletzt wieder auf die

Straße gegangen aufgrund der Preissituation

und der Leistung im kombinierten

Verkehr durch den Rückzug der DB Cargo.

Der Markt sortiert sich nun neu und viele

„Bei unserem Fuhrpark

setzen wir klar auf

Elektrifizierung.”

private Betreiber zeigen Interesse. Hier

sind wir in Gesprächen, denn wir sehen

die Zukunft von Gütern auf der Schiene.

RoPax: Sie sind die Nr. 1 im Bereitstellen

von Landstrom an der Deutschen und

der gesamten Ostseeküste. Wie ist die

Auslastung der Anlagen und wie kann

die Abnahme durch die Kreuzfahrtschiffe

gesteigert werden?

Dr. Dirk Claus: Allein im vergangenen

Jahr haben 70 Prozent der Kreuzfahrtanläufe

die Landstromanlagen genutzt. Die

Fähren nach Schweden und Norwegen

nutzen seit Jahren täglich Strom während

ihrer Liegezeiten. Wir nehmen insgesamt

ein hohes Interesse der Reedereien an

DFDS RoPax at Ostufer Hafen

Landstrom wahr.In diesem Jahr werden

wir unsere Kieler Landstrominfrastruktur

finalisieren. Innerhalb von sieben Jahren

haben wir 60 Mio. Euro in eine der größten

Landstrominfrastrukturen in Nordeuropa

investiert und sind damit gut für die

Zukunft aufgestellt. Ab Herbst können wir

danninsgesamt sieben Seeschiffe parallel mit

Landstrom versorgen. Schon heute ist Kiel ist

europaweitmit Abstand die Nr. 1 mit Blick

auf die Strommenge, die über die Landstromanlagen

an die Schiffegegeben wird.

RoPax: Wie weit sind Sie in der Umsetzung

von elektrisch betriebenen

Terminal Fahrzeugen und testen Sie

auch andere alternative Kraftstoffe?

Dr. Dirk Claus: Bei unserem Fuhrpark

setzen wir klar auf Elektrifizierung. Wir

beobachten die Entwicklung auf dem

Markt genau und stellen dort um, wo es

Seehafen Kiel

ENGLISH SUMMARY

The Port of Kiel stands for continuous

innovation development and unbroken

dynamics. Kiel is already the

leading port with the most shore

power connections in Europe and the

whole world. It is particularly popular

with cruise operators and ferry companies

due to its fast and straightforward

handling. The past year was

an overall mixed year for the Port of

Kiel, with a slight decline compared to

previous years. On the route to the

Baltics, the results were positive, but

the ferries to Norway and Sweden

were affected by a weakening Scandinavian,

as well as German, economy.

This year, we are slightly above last

year’s level in the first quarter.

nicht nur aus Umweltgesichtspunkten,

sondern auch aus betrieblicher Sicht Sinn

ergibt. Auch im Bereich Automatisierungsprozesse

im Umschlag sind wir

gerade im Austausch mit externen

Partnern.

RoPax: Danke für das Gespräch.

Ready to move

smaRteR?

With one of Europe’s largest route networks,

we connect key ports with seamless road

and rail links—keeping your business moving

efficiently.

Explore our routes and services at

stenalinefreight.com

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

72 / REPORT

JPE

Port of Ystad generates more

passengers to Bornholm

Ystad is ready for more traffic with its new port area, and

in 2024 Polferries deployed its newest generation of RoPax

ship, namely the “Varsovia”. RoPax spoke with the CEO of

Ystad Hamn Logistik AB, Björn Boström, about the present

situation. The year 2024 was a good one for Ystad because

they recorded a new record in passenger volumes to/from

Bornholm. For the first time, the Port of Ystad handled over

1.8 million passengers on the Bornholm route, due partly to

the success of the fast ferry operation.

Björn Boström, CEO Ystad Hamn & Logistic AB

JPE

Last year Björn Boström commented that

the port had generated much more cargo

on the services to the Danish Island because

more people were spending their

summertime on the island and therefore

more consumables were needed. The

shorter route from Ystad has a lot of advantages

compared to the longer cargo

route from Køge to Rønne on Bornholm.

Forwarders often use the fast ferry for their

empty trucks to come back to the mainland

in preference to using the cargo vessel

from Rønne, which leaves in the afternoon.

In general, the cargo travels aboard

the RoPax ferry “Hammershus” but the

new catamaran “Express 5” has a lot of capacity

to take some freight, including trailers.

If we look at the developments over the

last 6 years, passenger volumes have risen

from 1.5 million annually and are now

over 1.8 million passengers per year. In

total, Bornholmslinjen transports over 2

million passengers to the island by all

routes, including Sassnitz and Køge. The

traffic to Poland is steady but is not as good

as in the past. The economy is running

slower, and the effect of the Ukraine war

prevails. Björn pointed out that the decisions

made in Russia, and Washington,

will affect the port’s traffic. Ukraine is a

large market and supplier, and Björn hopes

to see a revival of the Ukraine-Sweden traffic

flow. Ystad still has a train ferry connection

to Swinoujscie and there are a lot of

wagons being shipped, which are going to

Poland for refurbishment and modernisation.

But there is also a lot of cargo being

carried for the refurbishment of the rail

network in Sweden. Björn attaches great

importance to the fact that his railway ferry

connection remains open. Unity Lines’

RoPax ferry „Polonia “is in good shape

and was refurbished in 2024. Björn is looking

forward to getting regular rail-based

cargo traffic back at the Port of Ystad. The

port has a new business developer, Mr

Hansen, who has come from Hector Rail

and will develop the rail traffic in the future.

Ystad has invested over 100 million

Euro in recent years in enlarging the port

and there is still an area of 14 hectares

available to develop for logistic and handling

facilities. Björn commented that although

the area is available for use, further

works are needed to make it fully usable.

Today there is no possibility of intermodal

traffic, but Ystad is looking forward to offering

a solution in the future. It is also

hoped to introduce intermodal traffic to

the Swinoujscie link following an initial

trial in 2024.

The inauguration of Polferries’ new RoPax

ferry “Varsovia” has been a great success

and cargo volumes through Ystad are

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

REPORT / 73

stable despite the operator has reduced its

fleet from three ferries to two following the

withdrawal and sale of the “Baltivia.”

Polferries lost a small amount of cargo

volume, but the company is now operating

much more efficiently and generating a

better revenue. Björn confirmed that the

port is also feeling the effect of competition

from the new route between Malmö and

Swinoujscie. On the other hand, Unity

Line generated more cargo in the last

month. He sees a huge advantage in the

schedule from Ystad and the additional

sailings offered by the Polish operators. By

way of frequency, there is a possibility to

defend the port’s position and to underline

the shortest route between Poland and

Sweden. Björn added that another

advantage for the port is that the sailing

time is 30 minutes less compared to

Trelleborg and 2 hours less than to Malmö.

Ystad has also tried to attract some

offshore business into the port, but the

Swedish government stopped all activities

for the installation of offshore wind farms.

However, Ystad remains interested in

becoming a service port for the offshore

wind parks. In general, Björn is looking

optimistic about 2025 and he anticipates

that a new passenger carrying record on

the Bornholm service is possible and that

there will be a growth in cargo on services

to/from Poland.

JPE

”Skania“ of Unity Line, catamaran ″Express 5“ of Bornholmslinjen

JPE

Bornholmslinjen

Intermodal traffic in Port of Trelleborg

Continued great success for sustainable transports

Port of Trelleborg, with the ambition of being Europe’s most sustainable RoRo port, is constantly working on

various improvement measures within environment and sustainability. We invest a lot in intermodal transports,

i.e. a combination of sea, rail and road, since it is the most sustainable way to get your goods.

Port of Trelleborg has worked to ensure that a larger proportion of trailers and containers choose the rail to

and from Trelleborg, a work that has had a fantastic development in recent years. In 2024 the increase was

17% compared with the previous year, which means that more than 46,000 trailers have traveled to or from

Port of Trelleborg by rail.

The port’s unique logistical location, where Europe meets Scandinavia, and with the possibility of combining

the transport modes sea, rail and road, is a success factor. Together with our shipping line customers and

our partner ports, we can tie together the intermodal solutions to increase the volumes further.

www.portoftrelleborg.se

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

74 / REPORT

JPE, Port of Helsinki

Port of Helsinki prepares

for the future

The port of Helsinki is looking forward to getting more

passengers back and a continuing development in the loads

from and to Germany. With the order of the three new

Superstar RoPax vessels for the line Helsinki – Travemünde

port of Helsinki plans to rebuild the berth until summer 2028.

In a talk with the CEO of Port of Helsinki,

Ville Haapasaari he pointed out the

connection to Germany is one of the big

pillows of Helsinki ports business. The

investment will be a lengthening of the

berths and a rebuild of the passenger’s

gangway tower and the ramps will be

renewed. The mooring system will be

also modified. The biggest challenge will

be the installation of a bunkering system

for methanol. The new ferries are

methanol ready and can sail with the new

fuel for the future.

The port is still missing the passenger

volumes form cruise lines. Before Covid

they had over 300 calls per year and today

there are limited number of tourists from

America and Asia due to the Ukraine

conflict. Ville Haapasaari confirmed that

Ville Haapasaari and Philip Eckmann

JPE

the port would be ready to provide shore

power to all cruise vessels until 2030. They

can accommodate three of the huge cruise

vessels in the port area of Hernesaari. For

the smaller vessel the port Katajanokka is

better prepared. For the ferry operators

Viking Line, Silja Line and Tallink shore

power is ready. For the cruise vessels it will

be much more expensive to invest in shore

power. The port calculates by 20 Mio. Euro

in total. Ville Haapasaari pointed out

whether they have 200.000 cruise

passengers or one million it is still only a

couple of % in the turnover. The main

business is the ferry services to Estonia,

Germany, and Sweden and the cargo traffic

from Vuosaari port. Ville Haapasaari

hopes the passenger market will fully

recover by 2030. For cruise passengers St

Petersburg was the main destination, and

they visited Helsinki on their way. The port

of Vuosaari today is well used and has not

much more capacities to increase in the

future.

The year 2024 was quite ok and at the cargo

side it was a little bit better than 2023 and

this is against the market. There was also

the 6-week strike in spring 2024 but the

operators managed to put the loads more

on trucks. After the strike they had a good

development in cargo volumes. On the

passenger side they recognized a 5%

growth and they ended with 4.5 Mio

passengers and one effect is the operation

by 4 vessels between Stockholm and

Helsinki. Viking Line set her wonderful

“Cinderella” into the service back together

with “Gabriella”. Also, Eckerö reported a

growth in its passenger and cargo business

between Helsinki and Estonia. Finnish

passengers generate most of the leisure

traffic to Estonia. Ville sees also more

passengers and tourists from the south

which will enter Finland by caravan. He

thinks there is a coolcation effect but the

most growth by tourists is in the North of

Finland in Lapland. He thinks it is the first

step and if it will be hotter in the south

more people will come to the north. He

calculates with a boost in passenger traffic

by the launch of the new Superstar ferries

in 2028 -2029. The passenger capacity will

Westport of Helsinki

be doubled. If Ville Haapasaari looks 20

years back when he was responsible for the

Finnlines cargo sales to fill the new Star

class vessels with cargo, which were huge,

at that time it was a challenge but today

they operate at a good level in cargo transportation

and in summer time also at

passenger volumes.

The project for the harbour tunnel to connect

Länsiväylä (Western Highway) with

West Harbour is under way. This tunnel,

approximately 2 kilometres long, is planned

for completion in the early 2030s. The main

goal is to consolidate Tallinn-bound ferry

traffic at West Harbour and improve traffic

flow in the area.

JPE

Port of Helsinki

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

INTERVIEW / 75

76 / REPORT

JPE

Lübecker Hafengesellschaft –

viele neue Geschäfte

Stabiles RoRo-Geschäft: Das vergangene Jahr verlief für die

Lübecker Hafen-Gesellschaft (LHG) zufriedenstellend. Die

Marktbedingungen waren denkbar schwierig, und dennoch

stiegen die Mengen um zwei Prozent. In ihrem Hauptgeschäftsbereich

RoRo konnte die LHG stabile Mengen

verzeichnen. Zwar war das Wachstum im Forstproduktebereich

(plus 23 Prozent) erfreulich; die langfristige Trendentwicklung

muss jedoch abgewartet werden.

Marktbedingt ging der Umschlag im

Automobilbereich um 18 Prozent auf rund

47 000 Fahrzeuge zurück. Dennoch

rechnet die LHG damit, dass sich die

Umschlagzahlen von Neufahrzeugen auf

diesem Markt langfristig wieder stabilisieren.

Im Intermodalbereich zeigte sich das

Unternehmen hoch zufrieden.

INTERMODALBEREICH ENTWICKELT

SICH WEITER POSITIV

2024 konnte die Tochtergesellschaft Baltic

Rail Gate (BRG) um zehn Prozent auf über

124 000 Einheiten zulegen. Das Netzwerk

hat sich gut entwickelt, Wels und

Luxemburg sind als Destinationen hinzugekommen.

Die Bauarbeiten am

Intermodalterminal von BRG sind beendet.

Für den Umschlag stehen nun 740

Meter lange Gleise zur Verfügung.

Spätestens im Herbst nimmt der dritte Kran

seinen Dienst auf, der bereits im Zulauf ist.

Dadurch erhöht sich die Kapazität der

Anlage auf bis zu 240.000 Trailer und

Container pro Jahr. LHG- Geschäftsführer

Sebastian Jürgens bekräftigt in diesem

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Jürgens

Zusammenhang: „Wir sind bereit für

weitere Mengen und haben das dem Markt

klar signalisiert.“ Angesprochen auf die für

2027 geplante Sperrung zwischen Lübeck

und Hamburg weist Jürgens auf die noch

laufenden intensiven Gespräche mit der

DB, InfraGo, der Landesregierung und den

Lübecker Beteiligten hin.

WSOL EXPANDIERT AM

STANDORT LÜBECK

Erfreuliche Nachrichten für die LHG gab

es Mitte März: Die Reederei Wallenius

Bernd Pagel

SOL (WSOL) will die Anzahl ihrer

Abfahrten zwischen Lübeck und Finnland

sowie den Westhäfen deutlich erhöhen.

„Darauf sind wir gut vorbereitet, und wir

freuen uns über die Pläne von WSOL“, so

Sebastian Jürgens. „Die avisierten zusätzlichen

Schiffsanläufe können wir mit der

notwendigen Personalstärke abfertigen.“

WSOL und LHG stimmen sich zu den

kommenden Schritten eng ab, zwischen

beiden Partnern herrsche großer Einklang,

so Jürgens. Auch auf die nächste Generation

RoPax-Schiffe stelle sich die LHG ein:

„Für die neue Schiffsgeneration von

Finnlines planen wir einen Umbau beziehungsweise

eine Anpassung des Anlegers

5a am Skandinavienkai.Voraussetzung

dafür ist natürlich, dass die Neubauten

auch auf Lübeck eingesetzt werden. Um

die nautischen und technischen Anforderungen

an den Umbau zu berücksichtigen,

habe die LHG am Maritimen Zentrum der

Hochschule Flensburg eine Simulation mit

FL-Kapitänen fahren lassen. „Auch die

Flächen am Skandinavienkai überplanen

wir derzeit“, ergänzt der LHG-Chef. Dabei

gehe es insbesondere um den Vor- und

Nachstau sowie die Verkehrsführung.

Damit stelle sich das Unternehmen auf die

avisierten Ladungsmengen ein.

FORSTPRODUKTE-MENGEN

AKTUELL AUF STETEM NIVEAU

Im Bereich Papier und Karton ist die

Situation aktuell relativ stabil. Allgemein

lässt sich sagen, dass die nordische Forstprodukteindustrie

in den vergangenen

Jahren tiefe Einschnitte erlebt hat. „Da

wurden Werke geschlossen, die Produktion

dadurch gedrosselt und gestrafft. Deshalb

sind wir darauf bedacht, an unseren Anlagen

zusätzliche Schwerpunkte zu setzen“,

erklärt Jürgens. Für dieses Jahr habe man

sich zum Beispiel das Ziel gesetzt, verstärkt

Projektladung zu akquirieren und umzuschlagen.

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

REPORT / 77

INVESTITIONEN IN UNIVERSAL-

HAFEN ZAHLEN SICH AUS

Auch wenn der Umschlag rollender

Ladung weiter einen Fokus bildet, hat die

LHG zielgerichtet in neue Universal hafen-

Dienstleistungen investiert. Dazu zählt ein

neuer leistungsstarker und umweltfreundlicher

Hybridbagger der Marke

Sennebogen. Mit seiner Reichweite von bis

zu 20 Metern ist er vielseitig nutzbar,

zumal er über mehrere Greifmodule

verfügt. Ein Einsatzfeld ist beispielsweise

der Umschlag von BigBags, für die die

LHG im laufenden Jahr ein Potenzial von

200.000 Einheiten sieht. Hinzu kommen

steigende Umschlagzahlen von Dünger,

Futtermitteln und Baustoffen. Jüngster

Geschäftserfolg auf dem Expansionskurs

zum Universalhafen ist der Import Kanadischer

Lärche. Diese Holzart löst die von

Sanktionen betroffene Holzart Sibirische

Lärche ab. Die LHG entlädt bis zu 100

Container im Monat, lagert die Ware ein

und verlädt sie auf Abruf auf Lkw.

″Stena Flavia“ at Skandinavienkai

TERMINAL NORDLANDKAI

ATTRAKTIV FÜR KONTRAKTLOGISTIK

Bei allen geschilderten Aktivitäten spielt

der Nordlandkai eine wesentliche Rolle.

Er ist ein multifunktionales Terminal für

den Umschlag und die Lagerung von

anspruchsvollen Massengütern, Stückund

Schwergut. Rund 170.000 Quadratmeter

Hallenfläche, überdachte Gleise und

Umschlagflächen gewährleisten eine

wetterunabhängige Verladung. Das

Gelände auf dem Nordlandkai gilt als die

größte zusammenhängende Lagerfläche

im Lübecker Raum und bietet vor allem

für Kontraktlogistiker attraktive Möglichkeiten.

Das Terminal sorgte erst vor wenigen

Monaten für Schlagzeilen, als dort die

bislang schwerste Projektladung in Lübeck

umgeschlagen wurde: Zwei Transformatoren

mit einem Gesamtgewicht von

572 Tonnen wurden aus einem Küstenmotorschiff

für den Weitertransport auf

Tieflader verladen. Weitere Schwergutverladungen

sind bereits geplant. JPE

ENGLISH SUMMARY

In 2024, the subsidiary Baltic Rail

Gate (BRG) increased its capacity by

ten percent to over 124,000 units.

The network has developed well, with

Wels and Luxembourg added as

destinations. Construction work on

BRG’s intermodal terminal has been

completed. 740 meters of track are

now available for transshipment.

JPE

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

78 / REPORT

Rostock Port –

stark auch in der Krise

Der Überseehafen Rostock, der in diesem Jahr am 30. April

seinen 65. Geburtstag feierte, kann selbst in der angespannten

wirtschaftlichen und politischen Lage eine sehr gute Entwicklung

vorweisen. Im Jahr 2024 wurden 30,1 Millionen

Tonnen umgeschlagen. Das war das zweitbeste Umschlagergebnis

in der 65jährigen Geschichte des Überseehafens. Mit

3,1 Mio. Passagieren im Kreuzfahrt- und Fährbereich wurden

etwa 100.000 Seereisende mehr abgefertigt als 2023. Allein

2,57 Mio. Passagiere nutzten die Fährlinien nach Schweden

und Dänemark.

JPE

Fähr- und RoRo-Verkehr über die

Kaikanten. In Zeiten der Pandemie

wurden 2020 und 2021 stark steigende

Mengen registriert, da zum Beispiel der

private Konsum anstieg und weltweite

durch sehr gut funktionierende europaweite

Transportketten ersetzt wurden. Im

intermodalen Transport konnten nach

einem extrem starken Wachstum zwischen

2018 und 2022 und einem Rückgang 2023

letztes Jahr 112.000 Einheiten umgeschlagen

werden. Für 2025 erwartet die

Betreibergesellschaft RTM wieder einen

leichten Zuwachs.

Dr. Gernot Tesch blickt sehr positiv in die

Eisenbahn-Zukunft des Hafens. So bietet

Rostock mit seiner extrem guten Eisenbahninfrastruktur

eine sehr hohe

Flexibilität in der Abfertigung von zusätzlichen

Zügen. Rostock kann im Eisenbahnverkehr

und im intermodalen

Umschlag mehr atmen als andere Häfen

an der Ostsee. Im Frühjahr 2025 ist der

Baustart zur Verlängerung der Gleisanlage

im Intermodal-Terminal geplant. Die

kranbare Gleislänge wird von aktuell 600

auf 680 Meter verlängert. Die Baumaßnahme

soll im laufenden Betrieb durchgeführt

und im kommenden Jahr abgeschlossen

werden. Rostock ist im intermodalen

Bereich sehr gut ausgestattet und im

Vergleich zu den polnischen Häfen, insbesondere

Swinemünde, eisenbahnmäßig

besser positioniert. In Polen sind, im

Gegensatz zu den Straßen, die Eisenbahnnetze

noch nicht so leistungsfähig wie im

Rostocker Hinterland.

PASSAGIERVERKEHRE

WEITER AM WACHSEN

Das derzeitige Passagierwachstum im

Fährverkehr ist ein weiterer positiver

Faktor. Es gibt etwa einen Trend zum

sogenannten „Coolcation“-Urlaub. Mehr

und mehr Touristen verbringen ihren

Sommerurlaub in Nord- statt in Südeuropa.

Die schwachen Währungen in

RoPax sprach mit den Geschäftsführern

des Hafenbetreibers ROSTOCK PORT, Dr.

Gernot Tesch und Jens A. Scharner, über

den Ausblick für das Jahr 2025. Im

Vergleich zum ersten Quartal 2024 konnte

in den ersten drei Monaten 2025 ein leicht

höheres Umschlagniveau verzeichnet

werden.

Rostock ist ein Universalhafen und das ist

ein großer Vorteil: boomende Umschlagbereiche

können etwas schlechter laufende

Bereiche ausgleichen. In der aktuellen

Situation ist der Flüssigguthafen der

Umschlagstabilisator. Laut Dr. Gernot

Tesch gab es in der Geschichte des

Überseehafens Rostock noch nie so viele

Anläufe von Rohöltankern wie derzeit.

Das Rohöl geht über eine Pipeline zur

Raffinerie nach Schwedt, die bis 2022 das

Öl direkt über die „Druschba-Trasse“ aus

Russland bezogen hatte. Der Rostocker

Hafen schlug auch in der Vergangenheit

Rohöl um, aber in geringen Mengen und

nur in gewissen Ausnahmesituationen

auch schon mal 1 Mio. Tonnen pro Jahr.

Jetzt liegt der Rohölumschlag bei 6 Mio.

Tonnen jährlich und läuft operativ ohne

Probleme: ein Ausdruck der Leistungsfähigkeit

des Hafenstandortes Rostock.

FRACHTVERKEHRE ERHOLEN

SICH LEICHT; INTERMODAL

WIRD AUSGEBAUT

„Die Zahlen im RoRo- und Fährverkehr

haben sich stabilisiert und nehmen wieder

leicht zu, nachdem zwei Jahre lang rückläufige

Zahlen verzeichnet wurden“, so Dr.

Gernot Tesch. Im vergangenen Jahr rollten

517.000 Frachteinheiten im Rostocker

″Berlin“ and ″Bore Wind“ in Rostock Port

Schweden und Norwegen machen den

Norden noch attraktiver für kontinentale

Urlauber aus der Euro-Zone. Andererseits

kommen aufgrund des Währungsunterschiedes

aber auch weniger Schweden und

Norweger nach Kontinentaleuropa.

JPE

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

REPORT / 79

AUTOUMSCHLAG TRÄGT

ZUM WACHSTUM BEI

Das seit 2022 bestehende Autoterminal im

Rostocker Überseehafen ist ein sehr großer

Erfolg. Die Betreiberfirma Autolink hatte

in kürzester Zeit ein extrem leistungsfähiges

Terminal aufgebaut. Auch die Lage

trägt zum Erfolg bei: der Standort Rostock

ist ideal insbesondere für Automobilexporte

aus Deutschland und Südosteuropa

in den Ostseeraum. Entsprechend

sind die Umschlagszahlen extrem schnell

gewachsen. Mittelfristig ist ein weiteres

Wachstum nur durch zusätzliche Flächen

möglich. ROSTOCK PORT präferiert

UPM zukünftig auch wieder ein Papierkontingent

von Stora Enso umschlagen

und lagern. Das derzeit noch in Lübeck

umgeschlagene, früher aber auch schon in

Rostock abgefertigte Volumen, wird in

Teilschritten zurück nach Rostock verlagert

und von mehreren Reedereien

transportiert. Es handelt sich dabei um ca.

200.000 Tonnen Papier aus Südfinnland.

KREUZFAHRTGESCHÄFT

ERHOLT SICH

„Rostock hat sich im Kreuzfahrtgeschäft

nach der Pandemie Schritt für Schritt

erholt und weiterentwickelt. Heute steht

der Hafen nach Kopenhagen und Kiel in

der Ostsee auf Platz 3 der meistbesuchten

Kreuzfahrthäfen“, so Jens A. Scharner.

Aufgrund des Wegfalls von St. Petersburg

als Anlaufhafen bieten die Reedereien

neue Kreuzfahrtdestinationen und -reisen

JPE

ENGLISH SUMMARY

The overseas port of Rostock, which

celebrated its 65th anniversary on

April 30th this year, can boast excellent

performance even in the tense economic

and political situation. In 2024, 30.1

million tons of cargo were handled.

This was the second-best throughput

result in the overseas port‘s 65-year history.

With 3.1 million passengers in the

cruise and ferry segments, approximately

100,000 more sea travelers were

handled than in 2023. 2.57 million

passengers alone used the ferry lines to

Sweden and Denmark.

Compared to the first quarter of 2024,

a slightly higher turnover level was

recorded in the first three months of

2025.

in Nordeuropa an, die sich einer großen

Nachfrage erfreuen. Für 2025 sind 167

Anläufe von 36 Kreuzfahrtschiffen von 23

nationalen und internationalen Kreuzfahrtreedereien

angemeldet. Beispielsweise

wird die Rostocker Reederei AIDA

Cruises mit AIDAdiva und AIDAmar 68

Reisewechselanläufe in ihrem Basishafen

Warnemünde absolvieren.

JPE

JPE

Jens A. Scharner und Dr. Gernot Tesch

dafür den Bau von Parkhäusern. Laut

Aussage von Arnd Brockmüller, Geschäftsführer

der Autolink Germany

GmbH, befinden sich die Fahrzeuge maximal

drei Tage auf dem Terminal. Das

Terminal ist ein reines Umschlagterminal

und hat keine Langzeit-Lagerkapazitäten.

Da bei einem schnell-drehenden Umschlagterminal

die Fahrtwege zu lang sind

für mehrgeschossige Parkhäuser, was zu

hohen Kosten führt, ist bei Autolink

derzeit kein Parkhaus geplant. Man ist aber

in Gesprächen mit allen Beteiligten, um

nach Optionen zu suchen.

FLÄCHENERWEITERUNG FÜR

NEUE UMSCHLAGAKTIVITÄTEN

Laut Jens A. Scharner wird ROSTOCK

PORT weitere Flächen für originäre

Hafennutzungen zur Verfügung stellen. So

werden alte Gebäude in Kaikantennähe

abgerissen, um weitere Vorstellflächen für

die Fähr- und RoRo-Verkehre zu schaffen.

Das Bauprojekt soll bis Ende nächsten

Jahres abgeschlossen sein.

PAPIERUMSCHLAG MIT ZUWACHS

Das Umschlagunternehmen Euroports

wird in Rostock neben dem Hauptkunden

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

80 / INTERVIEW

RoPax: Do you see also the cool cation

effect in your port by travellers form

south Europe?

Per Holm Nørgaard Yes because southern

part of Europe is simply getting too hot.

We’ve seen more Italian and Spanish

people going north also French people are

using our port to go to Norway.

RoPax: How was the cargo business, you

had also an increase, compared to 2023

in 2024.

Per Holm Nørgaard: We had a little bit

more than 2023. But not so much is getting

to the same level around 2018 and 2019

level. The level is going up to what we call

when we compare to 2019 level.

RoPax: Hirtshals is also a very popular

fish port. How was the development in

that segment?

Per Holm Nørgaard: The volumes, which

were handled via Hirtshals, have been

increasing in 2024 and 2023 and 2022.

Hirtshals port growth in 2024

Port of Hirtshals located in the north of Jutland in Denmark is

the leading ferry and RoRo port for destinations to Norway,

Faroe Islands and Iceland. Two years ago, the port started

a huge project to develop the port capacity and facilities in

the next 10 years. RoPax was in Hirtshals and spoke with

the CEO of port of Hirtshals Per Holm Nørgaard and the

development manager Michael Roselund Langballe about

the actual situation.

JPE

RoPax: In the last two years you planned

a huge port development project to increase

the capacities and to accommodate

in the future the next generation of huge

RoRo and RoPax vessels. How is the project

actual and what are the next steps?

Per Holm Norgaard: Right now, we are at a

stage where in mid-October 2024 we chose

to terminate the tender for expansion of

the port. The preliminary results of that

tender indicated heavily that we were

unable to succeed within the terms that we

had set. We have re-evaluated our approach

to the expansion. The first approach was to

build everything in one go and what we are

right now trying to obtain permits, preparations,

etc. Is to divide the expansion

into stages. The first stage that we will be

handling is the entrance into the port.

From seaside we will make an improvement

of what you call arrival conditions

and departing conditions for the vessels.

RoPax: How was the year 2024 for Hirtshals

port?

Per Holm Nørgaard: The year 2024 was

successful in the sense that we had in 2023

a significant downfall in passengers and in

cargo mainly due to the Norwegian

currency against the Euro, which is all time

low. It’s 40% of the Euro. That affects our

business quite heavily, the buying power in

the Norwegian companies towards

European produce either raw materials or

subcomponents are heavily negative

influenced.

RoPax: Norwegian people are not

travelling so much to Denmark as in the

past?

Per Holm Nørgaard: The motivation to go

on vacation in the EU zone has very much

changed in a negative direction because

suddenly the price of a summer vacation

or another kind of vacation is up by 50%

from what they are used. Some don’t have

the money, and some don’t want to spend

the money. They stay in Norway or outside

the EU zone. But what we are seeing,

especially it starts in 2023 and has really

picked up in 2024 is that North

German-based families balance some of

the lack of Norwegians travellers. Some of

them perhaps have vacation in Denmark

already but at least it seems that the

outlook for a quite cheap vacation in the

southern part of Norway has spoken to a

lot of families from the northwester part of

Germany. The season has extended quite

heavily into what’s called the shoulders. It

starts much earlier, and it ends later that

affects Hirtshals in a positive way. We are

not back at 2022 level.

RoPax: For the first stage you will launch

one tender for the rebuild of your breakwater

and for the second stage a second

tender?

Per Holm Nørgaard: We have defined the

first stage and to define the second stage

we will do this year. To say it clear the

stages are not dependent on each other.

For us it is good you can use stage six as the

second one. That’s much more up to what

the market demands are. But the goal is

still the same as before a total expansion of

the port. We’re not ready to take the

necessary investment decisions. We saw it

as too much of a risk to do it on our own

in advance it is important for us to having

solid business agreements in place.

That’s the base reason for us making this

different approach. There’s a little more

work into each stage because each stage is

a project itself. But still, we believe that in

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

INTERVIEW / 81

the conditions that the market is presenting

right now, this is the best way forward. It

gives us more flexibility and a save

approach of our target. The first stage will

be done in 2028 latest 2029.

RoPax: Why do you lengthen the project

today?

Per Holm Nørgaard: On one hand, it’s a

market issue and on the other hand, it’s

also what are the costs of stone. What’s the

cost of construction? Which has in that

period when we were in tender had

exploded. Things were nearly 70% more

expensive from when we initiated the

project. That’s why we lengthen the whole

process. Today we will not know when we

will offer more capacity for bigger vessels.

RoPax: You made last year a test of a

combi train to transport container and

trailers by train. It looks very successful,

but how is the actual situation with this

project?

Michael Roslund Langballe: The actual

situation is that we need a confirmation

from forwarders to agree with the rail

operator. That’s what we’re working on to

get the common agreement between those

parties. It is looking more positive. But

there’s an issue in Denmark, which is

giving us some difficulties because we

cannot transport empty trailers on trains

Per Holm Nørgaard, CEO

“The goal is still the same

as before a total expansion

of the port.”

in Denmark you need at least 14 tons. This

regulation is in whole Denmark. That puts

us in a standby mode. We have some

empty trailers here in Hirtshals, which can

be transported by train. We are now in

conversation with local companies to fill

up these empty trailers to get them loaded

to Germany. There is an interest of some

forwarders. We are still working on some

of the digital systems that we are introducing

in Denmark. I think it will be ready

in 2026 than they can operate them all the

JPE

way through Denmark. But more or less

the new locomotive is a electric loco motive

with the system on board. We do not have

the power grid in Northern Jutland. But

there is a solution for that to use at the last

kilometres the diesel locomotive. The

demand is at least two round trips per

week as a start-up. Later the wish list is to

generate five round trips a week. Today the

number of unaccompanied trailers at the

ferries will fill one train per day.

RoPax: How is the stage with the CO 2

storage project here in Hirtshals?

Per Holm Nørgaard: We are still very

heavily engaged into the Greenport Scandinavia

consortium, which is focusing at

establishing a CO 2

hub in here cells. We are

obviously a strong partner to realize the

project. We have three near-shore storages,

which are tendering now. As a part, we

want to be the platform for this operation,

but it’s not our decision whether to go

forward or not. That’s the operator and the,

let’s say, the ones who owns the permits for

a storage site. But this process has started

that there is a tender for the near show

project and then so it should be ready then

2030. You need quite a huge number of

volumes to open a storage place.

RoPax: Thank you very much for

conversation.

FAST. EFFICIENT. RELIABLE.

SINCE 1926

Diversity and reliability go hand in hand.

Connecting and moving the world.

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

82 / REPORT

Port of Trelleborg, JPE

Port of Trelleborg continues developments

The Port of Trelleborg has a new CEO, Malin Collin. RoPax was in Trelleborg for a chat and update

about the next projects. In recent years, Malin worked for the Gothenburg port authority. Her

first impressions of the Port of Trelleborg port were that there is a good team and high energy

here. She remarked, it is impressive to see the development over recent years. For her, it is

a good base to start and to continue the rebuild and modernisation of the port for the future.

Malin sees a lot of opportunities to develop the port.

In the last 10 years Trelleborg has received

a completely new port area with huge

capacities for modern and larger ferries,

and much more cargo space. The first task

for Malin will be to finish the east side entrance

of the port to connect with the logistics

area. The plan includes relocating

the main gate from the west side to the east

side of the port. The most important factor

is to construct a ring road around Trelleborg

to get the traffic to the east side.

Malin confirmed that the Municipality of

Trelleborg’s project for the ring road is in

process and everybody wants this to happen.

It takes time and she hopes that the

project will be realised in a few years.

There is a new procedure to get the

permission for this and a more certain

timeline whit less risk of interference for

the project.

The other development which we

discussed with her predecessor in recent

years, was to increase the capacity for

intermodal traffic. This needs more time,

but Malin set up the project and she is

looking hopefully into the future to secure

a positive decision with the Swedish Traffic

Administration. Malin pointed out they

have started a process with all stakeholders,

which will be concluded in 2026.

After this process, the building plans can

begin. The year 2029 is the target to

achieve the development of, and increase

in, intermodal traffic. Over the coming

years there will be enough capacity to

handle more intermodal units.

The Port of Trelleborg had quite a good

year in 2024, performing a little bit better

than in 2023. The first three months of

2025 are not at the same level as 2024 as

the year started at a lower level. In 2024 the

passenger volumes has dropped so the

team at Trelleborg is looking for a positive

trend for the upcoming 2025 season.

Intermodal traffic is still on the rise, plus

green transportation increases annually by

approximately 6,000 units. In 2024 the

Port of Trelleborg handled over 46,000

units of intermodal traffic. The traffic from

Poland has started somewhat week and

had declined in the month leading up to

this report. The cause of this drop in traffic

was new competition and the overall

market situation. In general, the market is

down by 8% and there is more capacity

available. Malin is looking forward to

welcoming the new ferries of Unity Line to

Malin Collin

JPE

Trelleborg, which are under construction

in Poland and will enter service in the

second half of 2025. With the greater capacity

from the new ships, Unity Line will

offer a much more competitive service to

its clients. The delay in opening the

Fehmarn Belt tunnel in 2034 (approximately)

sent a good message to the Port of

Trelleborg to develop more traffic and to

create a real hub function in combination

with the German, Polish, Baltic States and

Swedish connections.

Trelleborg is now a real green port with

two wind turbines running, and solar

panels delivering a good result to supply

energy to the port. Malin is proud that

they are self-sufficient in terms of

generating their own energy. A shore

power supply is running for TT-Line and

Stena Line this year and there are more

installations planned for the new Unity

Line ships. The Port of Trelleborg is still

important for rail transportation and

offers a train ferry connection to Rostock.

A recent visit by the Prime Minister

showed the importance of this sea link for

rail traffic and the demand to keep the

ramps and installations maintained. Malin

underlined the fact that they need support

to sustain the rail transport sector whilst

Stena Line has a future project regarding

new tonnage over the next decade, which

may or may not maintain the use of railfitted

ferries.

A restart of the ferry service to Sassnitz

will be very difficult. The test berthing of a

DFDS vessel there was nothing more than

a trial. Currently, there are no plans for a

new ferry service from Trelleborg. JPE

RoPax 14 / 05.2025

REPORT / 83

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RoPax 14 / 05.2025

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