Santander News

The volume of goods moving through Spain's top ports rose by as much as 25% in January as attacks on shipping in the Red Sea caused companies to divert Europe-bound vessels around southern Africa instead.Spain's northern ports have also seen volumes in transit jump by up to triple as traders opt to avoid moving goods by truck through Europe because of widespread blockades by farmers, Spanish retail and food industry association Aecoc says.Ports such as Las Palmas in the Canary Islands and Barcelona saw a 25.4% and 7.6% increase in the volume of merchandise respectively…

Interferry CEO Mike Corrigan looks beyond the latest COVID-19 complications to explain why the global trade association has reasons to believe the industry’s future is ultimately secure.If I had been writing this column just a few weeks earlier than late December, my opening remarks would have been decidedly upbeat. After two devastating years under the cloud of COVID-19, the pandemic seemed to be in ever-growing retreat and the passenger ferry sector was poised to turn the corner toward ‘business as normal’ in 2022.Now, however, that hope has been somewhat diluted by a single word: Omicron.

A study commissioned by trade association Interferry has revealed startling statistics on the far-reaching extent of the global ferry industry’s value to the world economy.Research into the latest pre-Covid full-year figures found that, in 2019, ferries carried 4.27 billion passengers – on a par with aviation – and 373 million vehicles across a worldwide fleet of 15,400 vessels. Among other findings, the industry provided 1.1 million jobs, contributed $60 billion to the world…

Vineyard Wind, which is on track to be the first major U.S. offshore wind farm, closed on a $2.3 billion loan and will begin construction in Massachusetts later this year, its owners said on Wednesday.The senior debt financing allows the project, a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, to mobilize its contractors and suppliers to begin work, the companies said.The U.S. government approved Vineyard Wind in May, billing it as the inauguration of a new domestic industry that will help eliminate emissions from the power sector…

Findings from a survey suggesting that ferries are poised to lead post-pandemic travel demand will underline an upbeat agenda when global trade association Interferry stages its 45th annual conference in October.Taking place in Santander, Spain, the latest edition of the ferry community’s longest-established conference is themed The Future is Ferries – marking it as a showcase for positive solutions and prospects in response to COVID-19, climate change and other major challenges.The survey results will feature in a presentation by London-based transport and logistics specialist L.E.K.

Trade group Interferry said its directors have given the green light for the global trade association’s 2021 annual conference to go ahead as planned in Santander, Spain, this October.The decision came at a virtual board meeting held May 20 after detailed consideration of current and forecast advances in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. The outcome was fully supported by Interferry chairman and president Christophe Mathieu, the CEO of event host Brittany Ferries.In line with the customary long-term planning of such events…

Golar LNG announced on Thursday it has appointed appointed Karl Fredrik Staubo as CEO, filling the void left by prior chief executive Iain Ross, who stepped down in April.Staubo has since May 2020 been the chief executive officer of Golar LNG Partners LP, recently sold to New Fortress Energy. Since September 2020 Staubo has also been acting as Golar's chief financial officer.Staubo's broad shipping/energy background includes time with Clarksons Platou Securities (2010-2018) and Magni Partners (2018-2020). He has a MA (Business Studies and Economics) from the University of Edinburgh.Golar has also appointed Eduardo Maranhao to take over Staubo's role as CFO.

Mike Corrigan, the ubiquitous leader of Interferry, has a broad base of energy and maritime industry experience, including his stint as CEO of BC Ferries. Corrigan shares with Maritime Reporter & Engineering News his thoughts on a broad range of issues facing the ferry industry: COVID-19, emerging international regulations, and yes, maritime training and education initiatives throughout the world ferry industry.Looking back to your tenure atop BC Ferries, can you discuss this through a training and education lens?At BC Ferries, safety and training was an integral part of my role and passion.

The head of global trade association Interferry reflects on the unprecedented challenges of 2020 and those ahead—but makes a case for cautious optimism.What a difference a year makes…In this column last January, I was hailing the worldwide ferry industry’s exceptional growth in 2019—marked by soaring tourist traffic and a host of newbuild orders—and eagerly anticipating further advances in 2020. None of us could have known that within a matter of weeks, all expectations were to…

Short sea ro-ro operator UECC and marine biofuel company GoodFuels have launched a joint trial of GoodFuels Bio-Fuel Oil (MR1-100 or BFO) on UECC’s ro-ro vessel M/V Autosky, the companies announced Thursday.The three month trial will test 3,000 metric tons of sustainable biofuel on the 140m, 2,080 vehicle carrier – a step in advancing marine biofuel for the ro-ro segment. The biobunkering, which will take place in the Port of Rotterdam, will be the first in a series of bunkering operations between March and May 2020.

The InvaSave mobile ballast water treatment system from Damen Green Solutions has demonstrated beyond doubt its capability to help ships meet the incoming D2 standard. All vessels will be required to comply with the standard which came into force on September 8th this year.This summer the InvaSave crew teamed up with local service provider Tradebe Santander  (Tradebe Company) to receive ballast water from a tanker in Gijon. What appears to be a simple exercise has significant…

French shipping company Spanish energy giant Repsol have reached an agreement for the extension of the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the ferry operator’s Spanish operations.Repsol will supply LNG to Brittany Ferries’ operations in Spain. Under the agreement, the energy company will build two LNG bunker terminals at the ports of Bilbao and Santander, where Brittany Ferries conducts its Spanish operations.Each terminal will include an intermediate storage tank of 1,000 m3 to guarantee an uninterrupted supply.Repsol will supply LNG bunker fuel to Brittany Ferries’ Salamanca and Santoña during the ships’ regular visits on routes linking Portsmouth, UK and northern Spain, beginning in 2022.

French shipping company  Brittany Ferries has named new ships as Kerry and Santoña and promised significant CO2 savings from fleet renewal plans.Kerry will be the name for the one-year charter vessel arriving in November 2019. As previously announced, this ship will cover the Cork to Santander route from November 2019 to November 2020.Santoña (pronounced Santonia in English) has been chosen for the company’s third E-Flexer class ship. To be chartered from Stena, Santoña is part of the company’s €550 million fleet renewal program, with a clear focus on sustainable development.Santoña will arrive in 2023 and like sister ship Salamanca, she will be powered by environmentally-friendly Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).Santoña will be the third LNG powered vessel to join the Brittany Ferries fleet.

A Saudi ship, prevented by rights groups from loading an arms cargo at the French port of Le Havre on Friday, arrived at the Spanish port of Santander early on Monday and was due to leave later in the day, according to the Santander port.It was not clear what the Saudi ship was doing in Santander but the port's website said the vessel, the Bahri-Yanbu, was scheduled to set sail at 1:30 p.m. (1130 GMT). It did not say where the vessel was heading.Spain's Interior Ministry said they had no information regarding the ship. The defence and foreign ministries were not immediately available for comment. Santander port authorities could not immediately be reached.French rights group ACAT argued in a legal challenge on Thursday that the arms consignment contravened a U.N.

A Saudi vessel that had been due to load arms in France left the country's Le Havre port without its cargo of weapons and is now sailing towards Santander in Spain, according to ship tracking data, a local official and a lawyer.Two French human rights groups on Thursday sought to block the loading of weapons onto the ship through a legal filing, arguing the cargo contravened an international arms treaty.A French judge threw out their complaint but the Bahri-Yanbu moved off the coast of Le Havre shortly after. It had been at anchor 25 kilometres off the Le Havre, northern France, since Wednesday evening."The boat has left and without its cargo," Laurence Greig, a lawyer representing the ACAT rights group told Reuters.

As the global cruise industry enjoys it most robust period of growth ever, the question invariably becomes: How long can it last?Cruising, which is a blend of the hospitality and maritime businesses, continues to grow at a historic pace. The Cruise Trends & Industry Outlook publication from Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) projects a passenger count of 30 million in 2019 – up nearly 2 million from the previous year. By year end 2019 CLIA members – a veritable ‘who’s who’ of the largest brands – will have 272 vessels…

Repsol signs supply deal for Brittany Ferries' new LNG ship* Spanish energy company Repsol has signed an agreement with Brittany Ferries to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) to its Spanish operations, it said on Friday.* Under the agreement, Repsol will install a fixed quayside LNG storage and supply system in one of Brittany Ferries’ two Spanish ports - Santander or Bilbao. Repsol will then supply LNG bunker fuel to Brittany Ferries’ new LNG-powered cruise ship Salamanca during…

The ferry business, unlike more industrial parts of the shipping business, touches wide swaths of the world’s population across continents. The membership of Interferry, the leading trade group for the industry, with non-Governmental organization (NGO) status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) includes 200+ members from all parts of the ferry spectrum. These include passenger ferries (including fast ferries), Ro/Pax and cruise ferries operating globally. In selecting “the best” we looked beyond the league tables of “the most” (passengers) and “the biggest” (fleet size).

Interferry has confirmed locations for the 2021 and 2022 editions of its industry-leading annual conference – held every October - in the latest initiative to extend its reach as the only organization representing the worldwide ferry industry. The global trade association’s 46th annual conference will take place in Santander, Spain, followed in 2022 by a twin-venue event in Marrakesh and Tangier, Morocco, which will mark a first for Interferry on the African continent. Multi-award winner Brittany Ferries will host the Santander conference.

Ro/Ro traffic between Sweden and the continent are increasing, as volumes between Gothenburg and Belgium have risen for the ninth consecutive year. During this period volumes between Belgium during have doubled, and the number of departures has risen from 12 to 16.Shipping companies are also in the process of expanding their networks from Gothenburg across large parts of Europe – often via the Belgian ports in Ghent and Zeebrugge, which act as hubs for intra-European ro-ro traffic.During 2017, 254,000 ro-ro units were shipped between Gothenburg and Belgium, and the forecast for 2018 reveals a 10 per cent increase to almost 280,000 units.

Stena RoRo places an order for a further newbuild and signs a 10-year charter contract with Brittany Ferries, said a press release from the company. The vessel now ordered, which will be built for LNG operation, is the sixth in the so-called Stena E-Flexer RoPax class with delivery set for autumn 2021. Stena RoRo has a further two options with the Chinese shipyard AVIC International. At the same time, the newbuild has been signed to a 10-year charter with the French ferry shipping company Brittany Ferries. This vessel, together with a further vessel in the E-Flexer series ordered last winter, will supplement Brittany Ferries’ fleet operating between Portsmouth in the UK and Bilbao and Santander in Spain.

MV Celine, the world’s largest short sea Ro-Ro ship, will today be christened in a ceremony at Dublin Port with guest of honour, An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar TD, Godmother to the new ship, Geraldine O’Reilly, and the port’s chaplains. The formal ceremony is a long-held tradition intended to bring good fortune to the ship and involves breaking a champagne bottle against the hull as the ship is christened. To mark today’s occasion, new Irish music commissioned by Dublin Port and performed by John Sheahan of the Dubliners and Colm Mac Con Iomaire of the Frames will premiere at the ceremony, heralding the ship’s naming in front of invited guests representing her Luxembourg-based owner CLdN and the wider European shipping industry.

The three best performing dry bulk terminals in the world are Santander and Bilbao in Spain and Quebec in Canada, according to BIMCO’s 2017 Dry Bulk Terminals Vetting Report. Santander was rated first in all four major categories: terminal handling of loading/unloading; terminal mooring and berthing arrangements; information exchange between the ship and the terminal and terminal equipment. The report evaluates terminal and port performance from around the world to improve safety standards and the turnaround time of ships calling ports. The results provide an insight into what it takes to be a “good bulk terminal”, but BIMCO still needs more reports from members to establish better ratings and statistics…