The ferry business, unlike more industrial parts of the shipping business, touches wide swaths of the world’s population across continents. The membership of Interferry, the leading trade group for the industry, with non-Governmental organization (NGO) status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) includes 200+ members from all parts of the ferry spectrum.
Interferry CEO Mike Corrigan reflects on the global trade association’s hectic year of involvement in three key areas of concern.Readers with long memories will have a strong sense of déjà vu when I say that safety, security and the environment are at the forefront of Interferry’s networking and lobbying mission right now.
The European Investment Bank is providing EUR 155 million to finance two new passenger and vehicle ships for the Irish Continental Group (ICG) subsidiary Irish Ferries.The two ferries will increase passenger and cargo capacity on routes to Ireland, replace older and smaller vessels and significantly reduce emissions from the Irish Ferries fleet.
A Lithuanian-flagged ferry carrying 335 people is powerless in the Baltic Sea but no one is reported injured, a spokesman for Danish ferry company DFDS told Reuters."There was vibration and there was smoke, but no fire was noticed," the spokesman said, contradicting earlier reports from the Lithuanian military of a fire on board the vessel.
A passenger ferry in Tanzania's Lake Victoria has sunk and rescue operations are underway, Tanzanian authorities said on Thursday.Tanzania's Electrical, Mechanical and Services Agency (TEMESA), which operates ferry services, said the boat, known as MV Nyerere, sank on Thursday afternoon in Ukurewe district Mwanza region.
San Francisco Bay Area ferry operator Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) is expanding its fleet with new vessels in order to meet large ridership increases. By 2035, WETA expects to add a total of 44 new vessels to meet anticipated demand, which is expected to increase by as much as 900 percent.
DFDS has exercised an option to order an additional freight ferry (ro-ro) newbuilding from the Chinese Jinling Shipyard.Similar to the five previously ordered large capacity freight ferries, the newbuilding is designed to carry 6,700 lane meters of freight equivalent to around 450 trailers.
Mississippi shipbuilder VT Halter Marine, Inc. has launched a new ferry, Powhatam, for the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).In November 2016, VT Halter Marine was awarded the contract for the design, construction and delivery of the new 499-passenger/70-vehicle ferry that will replace the current vessel, the Virginia, which was built in 1936.
California based shipbuilder Bay Ship and Yacht Co. said it has won a contract to build the first hydrogen fuel cell passenger vessel in the U.S. for Golden Gate Zero Emission Marine (GGZEM), a Bay Area company on a mission to eliminate maritime pollution.The zero-emission vessel is expected to be delivered and in service by September 2019 as a first of its kind in the U.S.
Last week in Tianjin, China, the Intercontinental Tianjinyujiapu Hotel & Residences played host to The 4th China Maritime Finance (DFTP) Summit, a two-day event which saw nearly 800 delegates from across China gather for discussions on all matters maritime finance, including day one, Wednesday, April 25, dedicated exclusively to the growth and future for China’s cruise industry.
The Government of Ontario has accepted Damen’s proposal to build two ferries with full electric propulsion. Damen is building a 68-meter Road Ferry 6819 and a 98-meter Road Ferry 9819 to operate in the Canadian waters of the Great Lakes. The vessels will be the first fully electric, non-cable vessels in Canada.
Terry MacRae founded Hornblower Yachts, LLC (doing business as Hornblower Cruises & Events) in 1980, and serves as Chief Executive Officer, the President and is also its owner. MacRae is the Co-founder of HMS Global Maritime and the American Queen Steamboat Company, and serves as Chief Executive Officer of Alcatraz Cruises, LLC, Statue Cruises, LLC, Hornblower Canada Co.