Shippax
Newsletter– week 10

Due to
a technical issue, last week’s
newsletter was not sent. We apologize
for this. However, this week’s
newsletter includes all the news
published on our website from the last
two weeks.

We wish
you a great week!

“Use
Funds Where They Are Collected” –
Interferry Welcomes EU Industrial
Maritime Strategy

Interferry,
the global voice of the ferry
industry, strongly endorsed the
European Commission’s launch of the
Industrial Maritime Strategy and the
inherent critical recognition of the
ferry sector’s strategic importance.
Notably, the push for Member States to
reinvest EU Emissions Trading System
(ETS) revenues into maritime
decarbonization aligns directly with
Interferry’s long-standing
recommendations.

Irish
Continental Group delivered a
robust 2025

In the
Ferries Division, revenue grew 7.4% to
EUR 465.5 million, with EBITDA up 9.9%
to EUR 120.7 million and operating
profit rising 19.9% to EUR 65.2
million. Passenger numbers fell 2.5%
to approximately 2.99 million, and car
carryings declined 3.9% to 679,700,
but RoRo freight units increased 6.5%
to 816,700, highlighting resilience in
freight demand.

Oki
Kisen to debut FERRY SHIGESA in
2027

Oki
Wide Area Union, consisting of town
and village communities on Oki Islands
and Shimane Prefectural Government,
and Oki Kisen will launch the 98-metre
FERRY SHIGESA in spring of 2027. FERRY
SHIGESA will run on the routes linking
Oki islands, Shichirui and Sakaiminato
in Shimane prefecture, Japan, and
replace the 1995-built FERRY
SHIRASHIMA.

Don’t
get stuck on the shore—join the
rest on board!

There
are now only two months left until the
2026 Shippax Ferry Conference, and
over 400 delegates are booked. Secure
a seat before we are sold out!

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

ROUTE? Genoa
– Olbia and return

WHEN? 5-7
May 2026

Shippax
Ferry Conference – where
everyone’s at!

Heart
Land Ferry to introduce a new ship
in 2027

Wakkanai-based
Heart Land Ferry announced that a new
ship will enter service on the
Wakkanai, Hokkaido-Rebun
Island-Rishiri Island route early in
spring of 2027.

The new
ship will be a sister ship to AMAPOLA
SOYA, which entered service in
February 2019. The existing BOREAS
SOYA, which entered service in August
2003, will be replaced.

Finnlines
reported stronger 2025 financial
results

Thomas
Doepel, President and CEO, in
conjunction with the review: “From a
financial perspective, 2025 was a
stable year for Finnlines. The
Finnlines Group’s revenue in
January–December 2025 amounted to EUR
713.5 (699.3 in 2024) million, and the
company’s financial position remained
strong. The rationalisation of the
RoRo fleet and investments in
passenger traffic laid the foundation
for a satisfactory result.

Minor
fire on the car deck of SILJA
SERENADE

During
the night between 2 and 3 March, a
fire broke out on the car deck of
SILJA SERENADE. The fire started in an
open-top trailer carrying metal scrap,
causing heavy smoke on the car deck
shortly before the ferry’s scheduled
nighttime arrival in Mariehamn in the
Åland Islands, while en route from
Helsinki to Stockholm.

Avora
Residences charters SEVEN SEAS
NAVIGATOR for Residential Cruising
as LUMINA

Avora
Residences has chartered the SEVEN
SEAS NAVIGATOR from Regent Seven Seas
Cruises, thereby expanding the
residential cruise category into a new
premium tier. The vessel will debut in
January 2028 as Avora LUMINA, serving
as the flagship of Avora’s residential
platform designed specifically for
long-term living at sea.

Fincantieri
secures order from Viking for two
new expedition vessels

Fincantieri
announces the acquisition of an order
from Viking for the construction of
two expedition vessels. In addition,
the two companies also signed an
agreement for an option for two ocean
ships. The value of these agreements,
subject to financing and other typical
terms and conditions, is considered
very important, meaning according to
Fincantieri a value of over EUR 2
billion.

Two
additional CalMac newbuilds may be
on their way to Ferguson

The
Scottish Government has announced its
intention to directly award Ferguson
Marine the contracts to build four
vessels. The package of vessels as
part of the proposed award includes
two CalMac passenger ferries for
Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited
(CMAL) and is part of the second phase
of the Scottish Government’s Small
Vessel Replacement Programme.

UECC
expands fleet with order for two
3,000 CEU multi-fuel battery
hybrid PCTCs

United
European Car Carriers (UECC) is
further expanding its fleet of PCTCs
with the order of two additional
multi-fuel battery hybrid newbuilds at
a Chinese shipyard that will boost its
cargo-carrying capacity and
flexibility in the European short sea
trade.

The
latest newbuilding contract is for a
pair of 3,000 CEU-capacity PCTCs to be
constructed at China Merchants Jinling
Shipyard Nanjing where UECC already
has on order two larger 4500 CEU units
with similar specifications that are
due for delivery in 2028.

Baleària
expands its high-speed fleet with
the acquisition of a trimaran

Baleària
expands its high-speed fleet with the
purchase of a fast ferry launched in
2015 and which it will baptize with
the name of the renowned Catalan
scientist PEPITA CASTELLVI. The
trimaran is 102 metres long and 27
metres wide, with capacity for 870
passengers and 250 vehicles, in
addition to 190 lane metres for cargo,
and can reach a speed of 35 knots.

SCA
aims for 40 per cent lower
emissions from RoRo vessels

From 1
October 2026, SCA is making changes to
its sea transport operations using
RoRo vessels by reducing speed,
increasing load factors on the
vessels, and making some adjustments
to how the ports of Umeå and Piteå are
utilised. One effect of these changes
is that emissions from the vessels
will be reduced by approximately 40
per cent.

Two
Norwegian owners take over the
entire ownership of Fjord Line

For
over thirty years, Fjord Line has
sailed between Norway and Denmark. Now
the ownership of the Norwegian ferry
company is being gathered in two
family-owned, Norwegian companies. The
existing owners Kontrari and West
Coast Invest will take over Ferd’s
share of Fjord Line and will thus own
the Norwegian ferry company with an
equal share of 50% each.

ARROW
long-term chartered to provide
dedicated logistics support to
energy project

The
Isle of Man Steam Packet-owned freight
RoRo ARROW has been taken on long-term
charter by the UK-based international
infrastructure group Balfour Beatty to
provide dedicated logistics support
for SSEN Transmission’s Lewis Hub and
Western Isles High Voltage Direct
Current (HVDC) Link in Scotland.

The
charter of a dedicated vessel for the
project not only strengthens project
delivery but will also help safeguard
Caledonian MacBrayne’s (CalMac’s)
existing Stornoway-Ullapool ferry
service.

Rederiaktiebolaget
Eckerö posts record results for
2025 with highest operating profit
ever

Åland-based
ferry operator Rederiaktiebolaget
Eckerö has reported its strongest
full-year performance in history for
2025, with record passenger and cargo
volumes, a 5% rise in net sales, and
the highest operating profit ever
achieved.

Rederiaktiebolaget
Eckerö, operator of Eckerö Linjen and
Eckerö Line services, announced
exceptional results for the year ended
31 December 2025. Net sales grew 5% to
EUR 234.8 million (from EUR 222.9
million in 2024), supported by strong
demand across its northern Baltic
routes.

EXPRESS
5 on its way to dock

Bornholm’s
fast ferry, EXPRESS 5, will sail until
midnight on Sunday towards its
statutory stay in the dock at Orskov
Yard in Frederikshavn. Among other
things, a brand-new antifouling paint
awaits here, which will save fuel and
CO2.

Industrial
Maritime Strategy must earmark
national ETS revenues to support
the availability of clean fuels
for shipping, The Clean Maritime
Fuels Platform says

The
energy transition of the shipping
sector is vital to Europe’s climate
goals and industrial leadership.
European shipping is a strategic
sector for Europe, carrying 76% of the
EU’s external trade and ensuring
security of supply of energy, food and
goods. The Platform stresses that
building a reliable supply chain for
renewable and low-carbon fuels in
Europe is a priority to make the
European industrial cluster more
competitive, to provide shipping with
the clean fuels needed for the energy
transition and to strengthen Europe’s
energy security.

Tallink’s
vessel VICTORIA I to undergo
scheduled maintenance

On 1
March, Tallink’s vessel VICTORIA I
will head to the regular drydock in
Naantali, Finland. Thorough works
await the underwater part of the ship,
also a new additional passenger
entrance will be constructed. During
the dry docking period from 1 to 14
March, travelling between Tallinn and
Helsinki will be possible with the
shuttle ships MYSTAR and MEGASTAR.

Baleària
improves its turnover and EBITDA
figures in 2025 thanks to the
boost from its international
routes

Baleària
closed the 2025 financial year with
robust financial results. The company
achieved a turnover of EUR 801 million
(+16%), EBITDA of EUR 170 million
(+29%) and a profit for the year of
EUR 63 million (+152%). In 2025,
Baleària transported 6.5 million
passengers (+15%) and 1.6 million
vehicles (+11%), meaning that it has
doubled its number of customers over
the last decade. At the same time,
Baleària has transported 10% more
cargo, totalling 8.4 million lane
metres (equivalent to around 622,000
lorries)

VIKING
GLORY celebrate four years and
four million passengers

VIKING
GLORY is turning four years and has
already served nearly four million
passengers on its Turku–Stockholm
route. VIKING GLORY departed from the
Port of Turku for Stockholm on its
maiden voyage on 1 March 2022. The new
vessel symbolized how travel was
cautiously beginning to open up again
after years of the COVID pandemic and
immediately became a favourite with
travellers.

Fincantieri
delivers FOUR SEASONS I

Fincantieri
delivered FOUR SEASONS I, the first
ultra-luxury hospitality vessel for
Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings LTD, Joint
Owner/Operator of Four Seasons Yachts,
at its Ancona shipyard. With its
all-suite, residential style product,
FOUR SEASONS I sets a new frontier for
ultra-luxury hospitality at sea. The
34,000 GT and 207 metres vessel
features just 95 exclusive suites,
each designed as a private sanctuary
overlooking the ocean.

Peep
Jalakas appointed as new Tallink
Grupp CEO

The
Supervisory Board of AS Tallink Grupp
has appointed Peep Jalakas as the new
CEO and Chairman of the Management
Board of the Group. His term will
begin on 6 April 2026, and will last
for three years. As of 27 February,
Margus Schults will step down from the
Group’s Management Board and will
continue working in the company as the
head of the Finnish unit.

Brim
Explorer orders two
battery-powered trimaran passenger
vessels

Tourism
and technology company Brim Explorer
has signed contracts for the
construction of what they call “the
world’s most efficient battery-powered
passenger vessels”. The two high-speed
trimarans are scheduled for delivery
in spring 2027. With capacity for 180
guests, the two new
zero(direct)-emission vessels will be
used for emission-free, silent
sightseeing and experience cruises in
some of Norway’s most spectacular
areas.

Corvus
Energy battery systems selected by
ABB for Washington State Ferries

Corvus
Energy announced that the company has
been selected by ABB’s Marine &
Ports division to supply battery
energy storage systems (ESS) for two
new hybrid electric ferries for
Washinton State Ferries. The contract
also includes an option for a third
vessel.

Paavo
Nõgene to step down as CEO of AS
Tallink Grupp

AS
Tallink Grupp has informed the stock
exchange that Paavo Nõgene, who has
led Tallink for eight years, will step
down from his position this coming
spring. His final day as a member of
the Management Board will be 22 May
2026.

SWITCH
Maritime and Incat Crowther
advance 150-passenger hydrogen
fuel cell electric fast ferry for
New York and beyond

Incat
Crowther has begun detailed
development and naval architecture on
a hydrogen fuel cell-electric fast
ferry design, with initial deployment
targeted for New York waters. Incat
Crowther is working on the design and
regulatory approval process for the
new 28-metre vessel in partnership
with zero-emission vessel developer
SWITCH Maritime (SWITCH).