#FerryNews - A new ferry for DFDS's Dover-Calais route will be able to carry 3,100 lane metres of cargo and 1,000 passengers. It will be built in China and deployed on the Channel in 2021.

According to DFDS, the Channel is a big and important market. Every year, five million passengers, one million cars and 1.2 million trucks travel between Dover – Calais and Dover – Dunkerque on DFDS’ ferries.

To continuously meet the customers’ demands, DFDS has decided to deploy a new ship specially designed for the services in the Channel from 2021. The ship will be built in Avic Weihai shipyard in China.

“Since the ship has not yet been built, we have great opportunities to make sure that it is designed to give our guests the best possible experience with a completely new ship. We will charter the ship from Stena RoRo and operate it for 10 years with an op-tion to buy it after that. And since we are considering replacing the fleet on the Channel in 2031, the timing is really good,” says Peder Gellert, EVP of the Shipping Division in DFDS

Four DFDS captains have been testing in simulators how to navigate the future ship to make sure that the new ship is best fitted out for the conditions on the Channel. “When sailing on the Channel, we need to ensure that the ship is at least as fast in arrival and departure situations as our current ships. Therefore, we have made modifications to increase maneuverability,” says Henrik Tidblad, Commercial Fleet Director.

The ferry will be highly efficient and environmentally friendly with an expected reduc-tion in oil consumption of around 25% compared to current ferries. It will be able to carry 3,100 lane metres of cargo and 1,000 passengers. With this capacity, it will be the largest of the ships on the Channel.

“I am really looking forward to getting this fantastic ship to boost the business on the Channel. This new ship gives us excellent opportunities to develop our business on the commercial side. A newbuild ship will give us the flexibility to make room for tax-free shopping, depending on the outcome of Brexit. Together with an architect, we will design the interior of the ship to make sure we maximise our opportunities,” says Kasper Moos, VP of Business Unit Channel in DFDS.

The initial plan is for replacement of the oldest of the ferries, Calais Seaways, which was built in 1991. Market developments will determine the final deployment plan, which will be announced in 2020.

#FerryNews - Danish shipping giant, DFDS has just reported another record result for 2017, the year followed the 150th anniversary of the shipping company established in December 1866. 

The operating profit according to DFDS was DKK 2.7 billion. The record figure by the Copenhagen based private shipping and logistics operator is derived from among other things on the continuing positive development in volumes on the company’s ten freight routes across the North Sea linking the UK-mainland Europe. 

Afloat adds the final 'passenger' UK-Scandinavia service closed in 2014 in advance primarily due to EU sulphur rules introduced in 2015.

Commenting on the figures,Niels Smedegaard, CEO & President, DFDS “Overall, North Sea freight volumes grew by 7% in 2017. In spite of the Brexit issue, and the delayed Brexit agreement between the UK and EU, we see that the UK’s economy is still growing, albeit at a slower pace. According to the UK government’s official prognosis, growth is expected to continue at just over 1 per cent in 2018. At the moment, we even see an increasing growth in British exports, which also contributes positively to our developments on our ten North Sea routes”

To accommodate the expected volume growth over the coming years, DFDS has ordered four new mega ships with a capacity of 475 trailers each for the North Sea traffic. The ships will be delivered from 2019 and onwards from the Jinling Shipyard in China.

The positive development in North sea volumes is also underpinned by some shortage in drivers as trips to UK are not as attractive as they used to be due to the fall of the pound in the wake of the Brexit vote. This has resulted in some freight forwarders changing from using trucks with drivers to just sending unaccompanied trailers on DFDS’ freight-only ships.

“In spite of the challenges Brexit may lead to over the coming years, we can also see opportunities for providing our customers with new, valuable, customs clearance services after Brexit, should customs clearance become necessary. We are located in the ports and have experience with this from our UK to Norway service,” added Niels Smedegaard.

#ferrynews - Danish shipping transport giant, DFDS has been named Europe’s Leading Ferry Operator for the sixth year in a row at the World Travel Awards Europe Gala Ceremony.

Breaking Travel News writes that DFDS beat four rival ferry operators to the award, which recognises excellence in the travel and tourism industry.The ferry operator won the title with thousands of votes from the public and travel industry professionals from 57 European countries.

Pete Akerman, DFDS marketing director, said: “We’re delighted to have once again won the approval of our guests and travel industry partners to claim the titles as Europe’s Leading Ferry Operator for a record sixth consecutive time.

Afloat adds that DFDS which celebrated its 150th anniversary, operates up between Dover and France on its Dover-Dunkirk and Dover-Calais routes. The operator also has a North Seas service between Newcastle and Amsterdam. As also reported on Afloat, it was in the UK that the nearby port of Blyth was host to the Tall Ships Races last year.

In addition a passenger and freight service between Newhaven to Dieppe, operated by Transmanche Ferries.

The DFDS Group through its extensive network includes lo-lo container operations through subsidiary, DFDS Logistics. Among the container services are those between the island of Ireland (see Port of Waterford) and northern mainland Europe.  

#RailBoost - DFDS the Danish logistics and shipping operator, has announced from this month a doubling of capacity on its weekly intermodal rail service between the Port of Waterford and Ballina, Co. Mayo.

The new capacity according to Multimodal News, will benefit DFDS customers in the west and north-west of Ireland in particular, as a cost effective alternative when compared to a road based shipping option. Coupled with this, the customer also reduces their carbon footprint.

Train timetables are to meet DFDS sailing schedules from Port of Waterford (Belview Terminal) to Rotterdam, which allows for onward delivery into Europe.

Customers can now load in the west of Ireland on Tuesday morning and deliver in Holland on Friday. Rotterdam also provides access to DFDS sailings to Norway, and rail connections to Italy and Turkey, allowing for a rail-sea-rail connection from Ballina to Milan and Istanbul.

Importers into Ireland will also benefit from this extra capacity, with the rail solution particularly suitable for bulk tank operators and also shippers of large volume to the west and north of Ireland.

With this important service addition, DFDS claim they are now the only truly multimodal operator on the island. Furthermore, DFDS are working with Irish Rail to develop its rail capacity by offering longer trains as trails of such operations are currently in progress.