The passenger ship Indera Bupala ran aground on July 15 about 1.5 nautical miles, off Mengkilo, Bintan, Indonesia. The ship was carrying 40 passengers on board, and was heading from Singapore to Lobam Port, western Bintan. Initial information indicated that the hull was not damaged, while there was not leak from the ship after the incident.
The ferry ‘Peter Pan’, owned by Swedish ferry operator TT-Line, suffered an engine room fire while sailing in Baltic sea with a total of 217 passengers onboard, in the afternoon hours of 9 July. The vessel was en route from Trelleborg, Sweden, to Travemünde, Germany.
Swedish power company Vattenfall and marine propulsion provider Echandia Marine announced development of a new system for electric ferries, designed to provide superfast charging, while minimizing emissions and lowering operational and maintenance costs.
Holland-based shipyard Royal Niestern Sander announced the signing of an agreement with the ferry company AG Ems for the conversion of another passenger ferry to LNG propulsion. The shipyard receives some funding from the European Regional Development Fund of the EU for this process.
Transport companies are being called to bid in order to provide extra freight capacity in case of a no-deal Brexit on 31 October. The ferry procurement process as the UK was preparing to leave the EU on 29 March, costed taxpayers over £85m.
The European Investment Bank has signed a EUR 70 million loan with Kvarken Link Oy, a special purpose vehicle jointly owned by the municipalities of Umeå in Sweden and Vaasa in Finland, to buy a new ferry to transport passengers and vehicles between their two ports.
BC Ferries announced that it will implement NAPA’s electronic logbook as its fleet-wide standard solution. Namely, NAPA Logbook will be in use on more than 20 BC Ferries ships by the end of 2020. NAPA Logbook will be available on the NAPA Mobile smartphone interface, meaning reporting can be completed anywhere on board a ship.
The Government of Canada announced that it is entering into contract negotiations with Chantier Davie of Lévis, Quebec, for the construction of two new ferries for Transport Canada, to support safe and efficient ferry services for sustainable communities and economies.
SW/TCH Maritime (SW/TCH) announced its collaboration with Golden Gate Zero Emission Marine (GGZEM), concerning its aim to build and own the ‘Water Go Round’ e-ferry. The project leverages proven technology from partners including BAE Systems and Hydrogenics.
Global trade association Interferry published key lessons from the FERRYSAFE project, initiated earlier in 2019 to study safety advances in the Philippines. The project team has completed the second of two visits to the country and is now developing best practice guidance to assist the IMO and other nations.
