Darrell Bryan News

Interferry has unveiled a strategic plan promising to put safety issues at the heart of its work as the voice of the worldwide ferry industry. The pledge came at the global trade association’s 41st annual conference in Manila – a venue chosen to spotlight the challenges of domestic ferry safety in developing nations. According to Interferry, the plan signals its overriding ambition to help lift ferry safety in all parts of the world to the very high standard already in place in North America and Europe, where casualties in recent decades have been extremely rare.

Darrell Bryan, formerly president and CEO of Victoria Clipper, has started work as interim CEO of Interferry following the retirement of Len Roueche. The Interferry board of directors named Bryan for the role – effective from April 1 - late last year pending the appointment of a permanent successor. Roueche, who has retired after 14 years as CEO, led the organization’s evolution from the International Marine Transit Association (IMTA) to Interferry, the leading international association for ferry operators and industry suppliers. Interferry chairman Mike Grainger commented, “We thank Len for his long commitment to our organization and to the international ferry community.

Firefighting led a stream of topical debate at trade association Interferry’s 40th annual conference in Copenhagen last week – but not before a record 342 delegates came under fire from a leading Green politician claiming that ‘shipping is currently one of the unaddressed areas of air pollution’. Michael Cramer, German chair of the European Parliament’s transport and tourism committee, delivered a stinging opening address demanding that the ferry and shipping sectors become more environmentally sustainable. He said ‘most vessels are like hazardous waste incinerators because they burn heavy fuel oil which should be processed as highly toxic waste but is usually exhaled without sufficient filtering’.

MarineNews spoke with industry experts to get an overview of the passenger vessel market as it stands today, including a legislative update and business leaders’ insights on pricing, ridership and vessel construction and renovation. Actions in Congress this year provided a mixed bag for passenger vessel operators. Because of the new tax law, private operators will be able to take advantage of an immediate 100% depreciation deduction for capital investments made in 2011. Also,…

Compared to Europe, North America doesn't have too many international ferry operations. The last one between the U.S. and Mexico failed in January after only a few weeks running. In the Pacific Northwest, however, Washington State, Clipper Navigation, Black Ball Transportation and the Alaska Marine Highway Service all operate international services connecting the U.S. with Canada. This means meeting U.S. and Canadian, as well as international safety regulations, and keeping abreast of such new international regulations as the International Safety Management Code (ISM) and Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS). All five of Seattle-based Clipper Navigation's vessels in international service now have their ISM Code documentation in place. At the home office this totals up to 25 volumes on the shelf.

In terms of new deliveries, the West Coast ferry industry will probably not see another period to match the past 18 months for some time. All three of the large government-operated ferry systems in the Pacific Northwest - Washington State, BC Ferries and the Alaska Marine Highway System - received new tonnage, as did a number of smaller operators along the coast. Still under construction are two high-speed vehicle-carrying catamarans for BC Ferries and a single passenger-only high-speed cat for Washington State. In addition, the Nichols Bros. yard at Freeland, Wash. is completing a 40-knot catamaran for operation between southern California and Catalina Island, and a second 35-knot cat for deployment in Alaska by the Brad Phillips organization.