Shippax
Newsletter– week 51

Shippax
Designs 25 – out now!

Shippax
Designs is our annual publication
presenting all newbuilt or converted
ferries, cruise liners and RoRo
vessels. This issue covers the 1 July,
2024 – 30 June, 2025 period.

Theme in this issue: STENA FUTURA

PolSca
Baltic Ferries takes delivery of
JANTAR UNITY

Remontowa
Shipbuilding has delivered newbuilding
No. 101, JANTAR UNITY, to PolSca
Baltic Ferries. The 195.6-metre-long,
32.2-metre-wide, 47,626 GT vessel has
a capacity of 4,100 lane metres for
freight and 400 passengers and will
take up service on the Swinoujscie –
Trelleborg route.

Windstar
Cruises takes delivery of STAR
SEEKER

MysticInvest
announced the delivery of the
126-metre long and 224 passenger STAR
SEEKER, the fifth expedition vessel of
the Explorer Series, built by Mystic
Cruises at the West Sea – Viana
Shipyard in Viana do Castelo.

Mikki
Koskinen takes the helm as ES|ECSA
President, with Nikolas Veniamis
elected Vice-President

Mikki
Koskinen from Finland has been elected
the next European Shipowners | ECSA
President, starting on 1 January 2026
for a two-year term, with Nikolas
Veniamis from Greece, joining as the
new Vice-President. Mikki succeeds
Karin Orsel, who has held the position
since January 2024.

Construction
of seven small vessels for CMAL at
Remontowa Shipbuilding moves ahead

Work to
build seven new loch-class electric
ferries for Scotland’s island
communities is progressing, following
the keel laying of the first vessel
being built under the project at
Remontowa Shipbuilding in Gdansk and
steel-cutting of the second vessel.
The vessels are part of the Small
Vessel Replacement Programme (SVRP),
which will deliver seven fully
electric ferries in this first phase.
The vessels will provide improved
reliability and resilience for
lifeline ferry services across the
Clyde and Hebrides network.

CLdN
and DFDS extend
Zeebrugge-Gothenburg space charter
agreement

CLdN
and DFDS have agreed to extend their
space charter agreement on the
Zeebrugge-Gothenburg route for an
additional five years, whilst in
parallel increasing freight capacity.
This will enable both companies to
better serve customer demand and
continue to develop the route, while
reducing environmental impact.

Emanuele
Grimaldi appointed honorary member
of Malta’s National Order of Merit

On 13
December, Malta’s Republic Day,
Grimaldi Group Managing Director
Emanuele Grimaldi was appointed
honorary member of Malta’s National
Order of Merit. The Investiture
Ceremony took place in the Grand
Council Chamber at the President’s
Palace, Valletta.

The
National Order of Merit pays tribute
to personalities who distinguish
themselves in different fields of
endeavour.

Electrification
of HAMLET takes longer than
expected

Öresundslinjen’s
ambition to have three battery-powered
passenger ferries operational by
Christmas needs adjusting. The ferry
HAMLET is currently at the shipyard
for conversion to battery propulsion,
but is not yet fully ready to serve
the Sound.

MSC
Cruises and Meyer Werft sign
landmark agreement for up to six
next-generation “New Frontier”
class cruise ships

MSC
Cruises announced a major new order
for four next-generation cruise
vessels and two additional options
from MEYER WERFT in Papenburg, marking
the launch of its new “New Frontier”
platform – a brand-new class of ships.
The order will secure full capacity at
the shipyard well into the next
decade.

With a
maximum passenger capacity of 5,400
and approximately 180,000 GT, the “New
Frontier” ships will be delivered
annually starting in 2030.

Rolls-Royce
supplies mtu on-board power
generators for Baleària’s upcoming
electric ferries on the route
between Europe and Africa

Rolls-Royce’s
Power Systems division is supplying a
total of eight mtu emergency power
generators for two fully electric fast
ferries for Baleària. From 2027, the
ships will cover the 18 nautical miles
between Tarifa in Spain and Tangier in
Morocco using electric power, thereby
opening up the first “green corridor”
between Europe and Africa.

CORSICA
Linea and Elyse Energy team up to
accelerate decarbonisation and
launch Corsica–Mainland Green
Corridor

CORSICA
Linea and Elyse Energy, a French
supplier of sustainable fuels, have
signed a memorandum of understanding
to boost e-methanol production and
develop the Corsica–Mainland Maritime
Green Corridor.

Cavotec
signs order for MoorMaster systems
in Denmark worth about EUR 2
million

Cavotec
has signed an order valued at
approximately EUR 2 million for its
MoorMaster NxG automated vacuum
mooring technology from Danish ferry
operator Molslinjen A/S. The systems
will be delivered to the ports of
Odden and Aarhus, supporting the
operation of high-capacity
battery-powered catamarans on one of
Denmark’s busiest ferry routes.

Russian
missile strike hits CENK T

A
Russian missile and drone assault on
Ukraine’s Odesa ports damaged the Cenk
RoRo-owned RoRo vessel, CENK T on the
12th of December. The Panama-flagged
CENK T, operating on the Karasu-Odesa
route, caught fire while docked at
Chornomorsk after being struck.
Firefighters contained the blaze with
no crew injuries, though one port
worker was wounded elsewhere; two
other Turkish ships were also damaged.

Carus
partners with Hovertravel

Carus
has announced a new cooperation
agreement with Hovertravel, the unique
cross-Solent operator connecting the
English mainland with the Isle of
Wight.

The
partnership will see Hovertravel
implement Carus Engage, allowing the
company to advance its digital sales
and marketing capabilities.

DP
World launches 36-hour Dubai-Iraq
route

DP
World has launched a new 36-hour
maritime service between Dubai’s Mina
Rashid and Iraq’s Umm Qasr Port,
providing a faster alternative to
overland trucking and accommodating up
to 145 accompanied trailers per
sailing.

In a separate announcement, DP World
announced that it unified its Marine
Services brands—Unifeeder, P&O
Ferrymasters, and P&O Maritime
Logistics—under the single DP World
brand.

DFDS
November volumes

DFDS’s
November 2025 ferry freight volumes
fell 1.8% to 3.6 million lane metres
(3.8% adjusted for route changes),
with YTD at -0.4% unadjusted. North
Sea and Mediterranean declined;
Channel stable via Jersey gains;
Baltic and Gibraltar up. LTM freight
rose 0.1% to 41.5 million. Passengers
dropped 10.5% adjusted to 195,000; LTM
down 19.7% to 5.3 million.

We are
heading towards a record-breaking
conference with well over 200
delegates already registered and few
available sponsorships left.



You’ll
meet:

RoPax,
RoRo and High-Speed ferry operators
and shipowners, shipyards, ports,
shipbrokers, naval architects,
designers, classification societies,
trade associations, interest groups,
regulators, banks, financial
institutions and suppliers, etc.



Where:

GNV’s
RHAPSODY, 5–7 May 2026, sailing
between Genoa–Olbia and return