Shippax
Newsletter– week 7

Meyer
Turku unveils new net zero cruise
ship concept

The
net zero cruise ship concept
developed under Meyer Turku’s AVATAR
project has been completed. The
project achieved its set emissions
reduction target: the vessel’s
lifecycle carbon footprint was
successfully reduced by more than 90
percent compared to the baseline
defined by the International
Maritime Organization (IMO). The
results provide a solid foundation
for continuing development and
innovation work in sustainable
shipbuilding.

HAFNIA
SEA has commenced on the DFDS’
Italy–Turkey corridor

HAFNIA
SEA entered DFDS’ Italy–Turkey
shortsea corridor at the end of
January. At the same time,
Transfennica extended its charter of
CORONA SEA – one of HAFNIA SEA’s
three sister ships – by 12 months,
also with Admare Ship Management.

Aleson
Shipping Lines face criminal
charges after ferry disaster

The
Philippine ferry operator Aleson
Shipping Lines will face criminal
charges for its negligence and safety
lapses involving its passenger ferry
TRISHA KERSTIN 3. The 1995-built 621
GT. RoPax carrying 372 passengers and
crew sank 26 January off the waters in
Basilan during a crossing between the
Philippine islands Mindanao and Jolo
Island, claiming the lives of 52
passengers, crew, and a Philippine
Coast Guard personnel.

Over
1 million passengers travelled
with Finnlines in 2025

Finnlines
total number of passengers in 2025,
including professional drivers and
private travellers, was 1,021,000,
which is an increase of 9 per cent
compared to 2024. The number of
private passengers increased by over
13 per cent.

CalMac
celebrated 175 years anniversary

On 10
February, CalMac marked a remarkable
milestone – 175 years since the
origins of what would become
Caledonian MacBrayne first set sail.
On that date in 1851, Hutcheson &
Co. launched their very first sailing,
laying the foundations of the network
that continues to serve Scotland’s
west coast today. In 1878, David
MacBrayne – one of the company’s
original partners – took sole
ownership and renamed the business
David MacBrayne.

A
NEPITA replaced by DANIELLE
CASANOVA while awaiting CAPU ROSSU

On
January 24, Corsica Linea withdrew A
NEPITA from service on the route
between Marseille and Propriano in
Corsica, after which the Stena
RoRo-owned RoPax vessel sailed to
Perama, Greece. There, the ferry is
currently undergoing a series of
modifications ahead of a charter to
Marine Atlantic, with expected arrival
in Canada in summer 2026.

P&O
Ferries strengthen
Zeebrugge–Tilbury route with
long-term charter

P&O
Ferries is strengthening its North Sea
freight offering with the long-term
charter of the RoRo vessel LISMORE,
which has now joined the fleet. Sister
ship to the LONGSTONE, also chartered
by P&O, LISMORE will be deployed
on the Zeebrugge–Tilbury route,
increasing capacity for unaccompanied
freight and offering customers greater
guaranteed space across P&O
Ferries’ North Sea network.

Austal
starts production of
Gotlandsbolaget’s multi-fuel
capable Horizon X at its
Philippines Shipyard

Austal
has marked a significant milestone in
the construction of Horizon X, the
next-generation multi-fuel and
hydrogen-ready high-speed ferry for
Sweden’s Gotlandsbolaget, with a plate
cutting ceremony held at the Austal
Philippines shipyard in Balamban,
Cebu.

DFDS’
CAESAREA TRADER suffers major
engine room fire off the coast of
the Isle of Wight

The
DFDS-owned freight RoRo CAESAREA
TRADER suffered a major engine room
fire off the coast of the Isle of
Wight while on her regular run between
St. Helier, Jersey and Portsmouth in
the afternoon of 9 February. All 23
crew and one passenger are reported
accounted for and well.

First
of three new purpose-built RoRo’s
for Airbus was launched

LD
Armateurs is set to welcome the first
ship of its next generation RoRo
vessels chartered to Airbus. The
SPIRIT OF TOULOUSE was launched in the
start of February at Wuchang Shipyard
(CSSC Group). Two other vessels –
SPIRIT OF MOBILE and SPIRIT OF MIRABEL
– are under construction.

Viking
Line marks two years of green
shipping corridor between Turku
and Stockholm

Viking
Line, Port of Turku and Ports of
Stockholm are running a joint project
with the aim of establishing a
fossil-free shipping corridor between
Stockholm and Turku by 2035. Two years
into the project, concrete progress
has been made on biofuel, onshore
power and zero-emission targets in
ports.

Operators
launch common
Kristiansand-Kirkenes freight
corridor

Nor
Lines Agder AS will launch a pilot
project in February 2026 to extend
sea-based cargo transport from
Kristiansand to Kirkenes, with the aim
of shifting more freight from road to
sea in Norway. The route is a
collaboration between Nor Lines Agder
AS, Fjord Line, and Nor Lines.

New
names for further two former Moby
ferries

MSC-owned
GNV has selected names for the last
two of a total of five former Moby
ferries that have been transferred to
MSC Group and will be operated by GNV
going forward. According to Italian
media, MOBY ALE DUE will be renamed
GNV PEGASUS, while ATHARA will take
the name GNV PHOENIX.

DFDS
reports strong rise in Jersey
passenger numbers

DFDS
has reported a strong increase in
passenger numbers across its Jersey
sailings, with demand continuing to
build ahead of the 2026 season.
Passenger figures on the Jersey–St
Malo route for January 2026 are up 31%
compared with the same period last
year.

Overall
bookings across DFDS’s Jersey services
are up by an even greater margin,
outpacing growth seen elsewhere in the
Channel Islands sea travel market.

Wasaline
is now officially part of Stena
Line

A
ceremony in Umeå marked the official
completion of Stena Line’s acquisition
of Wasaline.

As of
now, Wasaline is part of Stena Line
and its European ferry network and
port operations, which comprise a
total of 20 routes and 40 vessels.
Wasaline will continue its operations
with its brand retained, subject to
minor adjustments, going forward.

Isle
of Man Steam Packet considers
conventional ferry as replacement
for MANANNAN

Following
a customer survey, Isle of Man Steam
Packet now indicates that a future
replacement for the 1998-built
high-speed ferry MANANNAN, with a
capacity of 850 passengers and 200
cars, could very well be a
conventional ferry. This was stated by
the company’s CEO, Brian Thomson, in
an interview with Manx Radio.

SPIRIT
OF TASMANIA I and II offered on
the second-hand market

TT-Line
Tasmania has told Australian media
that its two current operational
ferries, the 1998-built SPIRIT OF
TASMANIA I and SPIRIT OF TASMANIA II,
each have a book value of AUD 50
million. It is further stated that the
vessels have been offered on the
second-hand market through
international brokers for several
months.

Tallink
Shuttle will soon run entirely on
renewable energy

Tallink’s
shuttle ships on the Tallinn–Helsinki
route will soon be fully powered by
renewable energy. In January, 74% of
the fuel used by MEGASTAR and MYSTAR
was liquefied biomethane (LBM). The
company aims to replace its entire LNG
demand with liquefied biomethane in
the near future.

Keel
laying of OCEANIA SONATA in
Marghera

Fincantieri
and Oceania Cruises, a brand of
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.,
celebrated the keel laying of OCEANIA
SONATA™, the new next-generation
luxury cruise ship, at the Marghera
shipyard. The vessel is scheduled for
delivery in 2027.

At
86,000 GT, OCEANIA SONATA will be able
to accommodate 1,390 guests.

Sallaum
Lines takes delivery of OCEAN
LEGACY

Sallaum
Lines reveals the delivery of the LNG
dual-fuel-capable OCEAN LEGACY, the
latest PCTC to join its Ocean Class
fleet, arriving just one month after
putting OCEAN EXPLORER into service.

Constructed
at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard
(Jiangsu) co. ltd., OCEAN LEGACY
measures approximately 199.90 metres
in length and 37.7 metres in breadth,
with a car-carrying capacity of 7,400
units distributed across 13 cargo
decks.

Total
travel to and from Gotland
increased in 2025

In
total, 1,758,481 passengers travelled
with Destination Gotland during 2025,
representing an increase of 1.6%
compared with 2024. During the year,
1,335,045 visitors travelled to and
from the island, an increase of 0.8%
compared with 2024. The growth was
primarily seen on the Nynäshamn route,
while traffic on the Oskarshamn route
remained at a stable level.

Slight
increase in ferry passengers
through Helsinki

Port of
Helsinki’s total volume of passenger
traffic on ferries in 2025 was 9.5
million passengers, 0.9% more than the
previous year. The busiest route is
between Helsinki and Tallinn. It
carried 7.5 million passengers,
slightly more than the previous year.
The Stockholm route carried 1.7
million passengers and the route
between Helsinki and Travemünde
transported 167,000 passengers.

There
are now less than three months left
until the 2026 Shippax Ferry
Conference. We strongly recommend
registering soon to secure your
participation since we are likely to
sell out.

Secure
your participation now to 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 from all
over the world.

WHERE? GNV’S
RHAPSODY

ROUTE? Genoa
– Olbia and return

WHEN? 5-7
May 2026