Shippax
Newsletter– week 2

New
fully electric ferry for
Scandlines was named

On 7
January, Scandlines named its newbuild
THE BALTIC WHALE at a ceremony in
Rødby. The ship’s sponsor at the
ceremony was Lykke Friis, former
Danish Minister for Climate and now
Director of Think Tank Europa. The
fully electric ferry, measuring 147.4
metres in length and 24.8 metres in
breadth, was delivered from Cemre
Shipyard in Turkey in October last
year.

Aponte’s
results in red after write-downs
of ferries at GNV

Write-downs
of ferries at GNV have pushed
shipowner Gianluigi Aponte’s results
into the red, according to the
ordinary 2024 financial statements of
Shipping Agencies Services (SAS),
filed in early January. Based in
Luxembourg, SAS oversees Aponte’s
business interests and is controlled
by the Swiss-based shipping
conglomerate MSC. Despite equity and
reserves of USD 15 billion, the group
recorded a loss of nearly USD 720
million in 2024, compared with a
profit of USD 2.1 billion in 2023. The
loss was driven by impairments of USD
505 million related to GNV and USD 210
million linked to its Italian parent
company, Marinvest.

Bandar
Abadi launches newbuild for Jemla
Ferry

The
Indonesian shipyard Bandar Abadi has
launched a 120-metre-long RoPax
newbuild for Jemla Ferry. The
newbuild, which will be delivered
later this year, will be named
SHANAYA.

Warning
against the removal of Estonian
state support for the country’s
ferry industry

Scrapping
state funding for passenger ferries
from 2026 could lead to Tallink
restructuring operations and
potentially costing up to 300 jobs,
according to maritime unions, a claim
politicians dismiss as a negotiating
tactic. The planned cut would save the
state EUR 40 million and is intended
to help reduce the budget deficit.

Last
of North Sea Ferries’
“transcontinental sisters”
scrapped

The
38-year-old GNV ANTARES arrived in
mid-December at the shipbreaking beach
in Aliaga, Turkey. GNV ANTARES was
originally delivered to the then North
Sea Ferries by the Japanese shipyard
Nippon Kokan/Tsurumi Shipyard as
NORSUN, in a relatively unusual
arrangement in which the then
Glasgow-based yard Govan Shipbuilders
was simultaneously building the
“sister ship” NORSEA for the same
customer.

No
reasons to resume the 1997-ESTONIA
investigation

The
maritime safety investigation
authorities of Sweden, Finland, and
Estonia have together published a
final report of the preliminary
assessment and concluded that there
are no grounds to resume the 1997
joint accident investigation (JAIC)
into the sinking of ESTONIA 28
September 1994.

The
damage to the starboard side of the
wreck was caused by contact with the
seabed. The report presents several
conclusions based on marine
investigations, interviews with
survivors, technical reviews, and
scientific calculations and numerical
models carried out between 2021 and
2025.

NYK
soon to receive Next-Generation
Marine DX equipped PCTC

When
NYK ultimo March this year takes
delivery of a PCTC newbuilding from
Shin Kurushima Toyohashi in Japan, it
will be outfitted with new digital
so-called Next-Generation Marine DX
technology. This consist of an
advanced autonomous navigation system,
a large-motion mitigation system, and
a comprehensive onboard Wi-Fi network
covering the entire vessel, all
designed to enhance safety and
streamline onboard operations.

ECO
STAR launched at CIMC Raffles

The
ship management company Atlas
Maritime, headquartered in Greece,
marked the launch of hull number H580
at CIMC Raffles in China on 7 January.
The 7,000 CEU LNG/dual-fuel
newbuilding is the company’s first
owned PCTC. The ship, which will later
be named ECO STAR, is expected to be
delivered in March 2026, followed by
its sister ship CLEAN STAR in July
this year. The series also includes
UGR AL SAMHA and UGR ZAKHER, which
were delivered during the first half
of 2025 to UGR Lines/United Global
RO-RO. These two vessels are solely
under the management of Atlas
Maritime.

OCEAN
EXPLORER delivered to Sallaum
Lines

Sallaum
Lines has taken delivery of the 7,500
CEU PCTC newbuilding OCEAN EXPLORER
from the Fujian Mawei Shipyard in
China. The Antwerp-based operator took
delivery of the sister ship OCEAN
BREEZE, the first of the six-vessel
series, back in July 2025. The
vessels, each of 73,000 GT and
measuring 199.9 meters in length and
38 meters in beam, are equipped with a
(B&W) dualfuel/LNG 7S60ME-C10.5 GI
main engine supplied by Everllence.
Sallaum Lines currently has a further
four newbuildings of the same series
in order at CMHI Jinling, with
deliveries scheduled through to 2027.

Seventh
and eighth Aurora Class PCTC
delivered to Höegh Autoliners

On 10
December, Höegh Autoliners took
delivery of HÖEGH STARLIGHT from CMHI
Jiangsu in China. HÖEGH STARLIGHT is
the seventh vessel in Höegh
Autoliners’ Aurora Class series of
9,100 CEU PCTCs, out of a total of 12
newbuildings contracted in the class.
Shortly before the New Year, HÖEGH
STARLIGHT departed Kawasaki, Japan,
bound for the Panama Canal with its
first commercial load. HÖEGH STARLIGHT
was 7 January followed by HÖEGH
RAINBOW, the eighth Aurora Class
vessel, at a naming and handover
ceremony at the shipyard.

SEK
35 million in compensation after
the MARCO POLO grounding

The
Swedish Coast Guard’s claim for
compensation covers the authority’s
response operations, certain vessel
standby costs, as well as expenses for
other equipment and personnel. For
this, the party responsible for the
damage – TT-Line and its insurance
company – compensated The Swedish
Coast Guard with almost SEK 36
million.

It was
on Sunday, 22 October 2023, that
TT-Line’s RoPax MARCO POLO ran aground
in Pukavik Bay off the coast of
Blekinge (Southern Sweden). At least
60,000 litres of oil leaked into the
sea, marking the start of an
environmental rescue operation in
which the emergency response phase
lasted for 19 days.

Bornholmslinjen
sets another record

In
2025, a total of 2,036,417 passengers
travelled to and from Bornholm on
Bornholmslinjen’s ferries. This is the
highest number of passengers ever
recorded in a calendar year. Last
year’s record stood at 2,005,564
passengers, which was the first time
the ferries carried more than two
million passengers – an increase of
1.5% for Bornholmslinjen.

Municipality
imposes stricter requirements on
the Sandefjord-Strömstad route

The
Sandefjord municipal director
recommends keeping Sandefjord harbour
open for ferry services to Strömstad
beyond 2030, provided measures are
implemented to improve traffic flow
and road safety in the area near the
terminal building. Continued ferry
operations are supported, but only
with mitigation measures in place.

Proposed
measures include longer berthing
times, simultaneous loading and
unloading, increased vehicle holding
capacity at the terminal, and adjusted
sailing schedules to avoid peak
traffic periods. Two studies form the
basis for the assessment.

Former
Greek-owned ferry arrived in
Guyana

Guyana’s
first modern double-ended ferry has
arrived and is poised to enhance
travel between Parika and Supenaam.
The 2020-built 827 GT, former
Greek-owned, ARIS IV arrived early
December in Guyana’s capital
Georgetown, after sailing from
Piraeus, Greece.

Oma
Baatbyggeri delivers newbuild to
Torghatten Nord

In
December, the Norwegian shipyard Oma
Baatbyggeri delivered the newbuilding
VARGSUND to Torghatten Nord. The
49.3-metre-long and 13-metre-wide
aluminium ferry has capacity for 95
passengers and 28 cars.

The
ferry, which will be followed in the
coming months by a sister vessel from
the yard, is fully electric, with a
battery pack from Corvus Energy and a
propulsion system from BOS Power.

ADNOC
will introduce a remotely operated
unmanned RoRo vessel

Abu
Dhabi-based ADNOC Logistics &
Services has unveiled the UAE’s first
Remotely Operated Landing Craft
Vessel. Developed with SeaOwl, the
60-metre double-ended RoRo vessel uses
advanced AI and satellite-linked
control systems and can be operated
remotely.

The
vessel’s design eliminates the need
for onboard crew accommodation,
reducing weight, improving fuel
efficiency, and enabling
round-the-clock operations. Its
AI-enabled route optimization is
expected to deliver up to 30%
reduction in CO2 emissions compared to
conventional vessels.

Marine
Atlantic charters A NEPITA from
Stena RoRo

Stena
RoRo has chartered out A NEPITA on a
five-year agreement with Marine
Atlantic. The RoPax vessel, built in
2002, has been owned by Stena RoRo
since 2014 and has been employed by
Corsica Linea in the Mediterranean
since 2020.

According
to Marine Atlantic, A NEPITA will now
undergo a series of modifications to
fit the company’s port infrastructure,
ahead of an expected arrival in Canada
during the summer of 2026. A NEPITA
was built as SUPERFAST X for the Greek
operator Superfast Ferries at HDW in
Kiel.

TYRFING
gets further delayed

Samsø’s
upcoming electric ferry, TYRFING, will
be further delayed. Unfortunately, the
ferry’s preparation for sailing at the
shipyard in Svendborg is taking a long
time – the plan is now to put the
ferry into operation with Samsølinjen
on 16 January.

HD
Hyundai Heavy Industries’s HiMSEN
engine stable to operate on
ethanol fuel

HD
Hyundai Heavy Industries has
successfully verified that its own
brand HiMSEN engine can operate stably
on ethanol fuel, thereby further
strengthening its capability to
accommodate eco-friendly fuels.

The
company conducted combustion and
operational characteristic tests
applying ethanol fuel based on the
methanol dual-fuel engine platform
(H32DF-LM). As a result, it confirmed
that stable operation at all load
points is possible. The test focused
on verifying startability, combustion
stability, power output stability, and
exhaust gas characteristics under fuel
property differences, while
maintaining the existing methanol
engine hardware as much as possible.

GNV
adds significantly more capacity
on the Naples-Palermo route

GNV has
strengthened its service on the
Naples–Palermo route with two evening
departures five days a week, operated
by two vessels in each direction. The
updated schedule is designed to better
serve both passenger and freight
demand throughout the winter season
and ahead of summer 2026.

From 25
November, available lanemetre capacity
was increased from 3,300 to 4,700 with
SPLENDID and GNV AURIGA, supported by
GOLDEN CARRIER, which – as already
reported by Shippax – is currently on
charter from A-Ships Management. From
19 December, the addition of GNV SIRIO
raised the number of vessels from
three to four, bringing the total
capacity further up to more than 6,000
lanemetres.

Second-to-last
Searunner arrived in Aliaga

The
RoRo vessel STORNO, built in 1978,
arrived off the scrapping yard in
Aliaga, Turkey, in November last year.
Back in April 2025, the ship had been
sold by the Greek Ainaftis Shipping
Company to the Marshall Islands–based
company Novara Ventures Ltd., which
reflagged the vessel under the
Togolese flag and renamed it from
PELAGITIS to STORNO.

Tallink
2025: Passenger numbers remained
stable

AS
Tallink Grupp has published the
Group’s passenger and cargo statistics
for the fourth quarter and December
2025 to the stock exchange. Compared
to the same period in 2024, passenger
numbers decreased by 0.3%. During the
holiday season in December, passenger
numbers grew by 0.2%. For the year as
a whole, results stabilized at the
level of 2024. Cargo volumes declined
across all company routes in 2025,
most notably on the Finland–Sweden
routes, 22.8%, and the Estonia–Finland
route, 20%. On the Estonia–Sweden
route, the decrease was 11.5%.

EXPRESS
5 to sail more in 2026

In the
sailing schedule for 2026, EXPRESS 5
will have to sail 80 more departures
than this year. This is because in
2026, Bornholmslinjen has wanted
several consecutive days for
maintenance of EXPRESS 5. On the other
hand, the number of weeks with lay-up
days will be cut significantly.

VIKING
GLORY to make evening voyages from
Turku when VIKING GRACE is
dry-docked

In
January, the Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm
route will offer something special
when VIKING GLORY takes over evening
departures and GABRIELLA makes a guest
star appearance for the route’s
morning departures. Both vessels will
offer new experiences as they fill in
for VIKING GRACE, which will undergo a
refurbishment during its dry-docking.

Brittany
Ferries secure prime 8:15am slot
at Port of St Malo

The
region of Brittany has confirmed that
Brittany Ferries’ Guernsey Service
will have the 8:15am slot at the Port
of Saint Malo in 2026, which will put
the Bailiwick in an excellent position
to continue growing its passenger and
freight service, following a strong
season in 2025.

Not
a Merry Christmas for CMAL and
CalMac as two newbuilding ferries
– GLEN ROSA and ISLE OF ISLAY –
are further delayed

CMAL’s
hopes for pre-Christmas delivery of
the first of four new RoPax ferries
from Turkey’s Cemre shipyard—ISLE OF
ISLAY—have been dashed, with arrival
now pushed to early 2026. Separately,
Ferguson Marine’s CEO Graeme Thomson
announced a six-month delay for the
second LNG hybrid ferry, GLEN ROSA
(for CalMac’s Arran route), to Q4
2026.

TT-Line
signs firm contract with Jinling
Shipyard for next-generation RoPax
vessel

TT-Line
has signed a contract for the
construction of a new LNG-hybrid RoPax
vessel with the China Merchants
Jinling Shipyard. The new vessel will
be approximately 240 metres long and
designed to accommodate around 1,000
passengers.

Carnival
Corporation full-year results

Carnival
Corporation reported full-year
revenues reaching an all-time high of
USD 26.6 billion on record net yields
(in constant currency). Operating
income climbed 25% to USD 4.5 billion,
while adjusted EBITDA rose by over USD
1 billion to USD 7.2 billion,
delivering an adjusted return on
invested capital (ROIC) exceeding 13%.
For the fourth quarter alone, adjusted
net income jumped more than 140% to
USD 454 million, with revenues up
nearly USD 400 million to USD 6.3
billion and adjusted EBITDA margins
expanding by almost 300 basis points
year-on-year.

Christmas
lunch rush at Öresundslinjens
ferries

A
record of more than 36,500 guests
wanted to eat and drink their
Christmas lunch on Öresundslinjens
ferries last year – almost 28
percent more than the previous year,
when 28,663 guests chose to take a
seat at one of the ferries’
Christmas tables.

Corvus
Energy secures record order for
seven fully electric CMAL Ferries

Corvus
Energy has received a record- order
from Remontowa Shipbuilding in Poland
for the supply of battery systems to
seven new fully electric ferries for
Scottish Government owned Caledonian
Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) in
Scotland. This marks the largest
contract in Corvus Energy’s history,
measured in USD value.

Each of
the seven new car and passenger
ferries will be equipped with 5.7 MWh
Corvus Dolphin NxtGen Energy Storage
Systems, representing a total capacity
of 40 MWh. Corvus Energy will deliver
the first system in 2026, followed by
three in 2027 and another three in
2028.

Heading
towards a record-breaking
conference – book now to secure
your participation!

Join us
and meet approximately 500 delegates
from over 240 companies in the ferry
industry!

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