Bali Strait ferry Rafelia II, a 65m long Ro-Ro ship, capsized and sank on 4th March. The ferry departed from Gilimanuk with 40 to 70 passengers, 32 vehicles and 14 crew aboard, heading to Banyuwangi, East Java. The Rafelia II lost stability and began to roll over on her starboard side. Passengers and crew had just a few minutes to escape and jump into the sea. Local fishing boats along with patrol boats rushed to the scene and searched for survivors. Initial reports stated 50 persons were rescued from the water. The vessel is believed to have suffered water ingress before departing which may have caused the sudden loss of stability.

Bimini superfast’s 32,728gt/2001 built Bimini superfast has been sold to Grimaldi Lines and will operate in the Mediterranean as the Cruise Olbia (above) serving Sardinia (Livorno-Olbia). Meanwhile the fire gutted Grimaldi ship Sorrento has been towed for scrapping at Aliaga, Turkey.

Brittany Ferries’ 32,728gt/2001 built cap Finistère arrived in Plymouth on 4th March for her routine Port State Control Inspection. She remained in port until 2030 that night when she departed for Santander. Following overhaul and the installation of her exhaust scrubber system, the 29,468gt/2009 built Armorique departed from Santander’s Astander Shipyard on 15th March for bunkers in Gijon before taking on stores in Cherbourg, sea trials and returning to her Roscoff-Plymouth duties from 25th March. The 40,859gt/2004 built Pont Aven would not be too far behind, upon completion of similar work in Gdansk. During the last financial year, ending 30th September 2015, Brittany Ferries carried 2,567,298 passengers (up 5.5%) and 186,385 lorries (up 21%). Turnover increased by 12% to €467.7 million.

The chartered 12,076gt/1999 built ro-ro ship MN pelican arrived at Poole on her first voyage from Bilbao on 13th February. Her turnaround that day was delayed due to adjustments required to permit both her main deck and upper deck stern ramps to be deployed. Bad weather put her schedule 24hrs behind during the week beginning 7th March.

Calmac And Serco Caledonian Ferries have submitted final bids for a £1 billion Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) contract, which covers 26-routes over an 8- year period on the west coast ferry network. The deal was put out to tender in 2015 and is expected to be awarded to the winning bidder in May 2016. CalMac and Serco passed the pre-qualification stage of the process and were invited to submit tenders for the next CHFS contract, which will run from 1st October 2016. The Scottish government will provide up to £1 billion of funding to support the enhancement and development of these services, in addition to fares revenue. It will also ensure that Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) continues to be applied on CHFS routes, bringing significantly reduced fares for passengers, cars, small commercial vehicles and coaches and helping to support local communities and the tourist industry.

Corsica Linea has suspended the Bastia to Marseille freight operation using the 10,488gt/1998 built Corsica Linea Dui following a directive issued by the Marseille Commercial Court on 1st March.

Intershipping’s chartered 27,744gt/2014 built Nova Star finally entered service between Tanger Med and Algeciras in late February. The introduction of the former Portland-Yarmouth ferry was initially delayed by the bow ramp not being suitable for the berth at Tanger Med.

Irish Ferries’ Epsilon departed from Cherbourg bound for Dublin on 7th February and sailed into the teeth of Storm Imogen. Her competitor Stena Flavia sheltered off Exmouth (South Devon) but the Epsilon continued around Land’s End and did not take shelter until Bideford Bay, North Devon.

The ship encountered fierce seas and winds of a constant 60 knots with gusts of 105 knots at times. Thousands of Euros of damage was done to vehicles on her garage decks (above). The severity of which was revealed when the ship reached Dublin 24hrs late on 9th February. There were approximately 100 people on board during the stormy passage with no reports of any injuries. After a long clean-up operation the ship resumed service with a sailing to Holyhead, but was immediately withdrawn from service again after damage to a ship’s lifeboat was discovered (caused during Storm Imogen). Normal service recommenced once repairs had been undertaken.

Kestrel Preservation Society was in complete shock on 8th March when the 111-yearold passenger ferry Kestrel (above) sank in Auckland, becoming a total loss. The 1905 built Kestrel had been docked at Wynyard Wharf for the last four years, but flooded overnight and was quickly submerged. Plans to fully restore her are now in ruins. Seatruck added a larger 3rd vessel to the Dublin-Liverpool route from 7th March. The use of the faster 14,759gt/2009 built Seatruck Pace has almost doubled the freight capacity with space for 110 trailers per sailing.

Serco Northlink employed the 6,753gt/1995 built CalMac ferry Isle of Lewis to deputise for the Hamnavoe on the Scrabster-Stromness link for the first half of March. The Hamnavoe departed Stromness on 29th February, bound for Rosyth for scheduled maintenance, and was scheduled to return of 16th March, but was reported as a day behind at the time of writing.

Shemara Refit, the Isle of Wight-based shipbuilder constructing Red Funnel’s new Red Jet 6, is to refit three of MBNA Thames Clippers’ passenger ferries in East Cowes. The first of the three London-based ferries, Storm Clipper, arrived at Shemara’s East Cowes yard on 25th February. The two remaining ferries, Sky Clipper and Star Clipper, will be refurbished later this year.

Stena Line’s 33,690gt/2011 built Stena Transporter caught fire on 17th February during cargo handling operations at her berth in Hoek van Holland, Netherlands. The fire started on a cargo deck, where the vessel was loading gas bottles. Two shore based firefighting teams were dispatched and succeeded to extinguish the fire in less than an hour. According to preliminary information the fire started due to a short circuit on electrical equipment, which ignited some of the appliances on the cargo deck. The ship returned to service from her dry docking for the week commencing 13th March.

On 22nd February the 30,285gt/2001 built Stena Superfast VII left dry dock at Harland & Wolff to resume service on the Belfast to Cairnryan route. During her time on refit she had her annual underwater surveys and repairs carried out on bow thruster No.3, plus upgrades in the passenger areas commenced that would be completed on the run in time for Easter. The 30,551gt/2002 built Stena Superfast X subsequently transferred back to Holyhead-Dublin for 24th February with an in water survey also completed for her. The 43,532gt/2003 built Stena Adventurer was then released to Harland and Wolff dry dock for 25th February, returning to her route again on 13th March. This released the 27,522gt/2006 built Stena Horizon to return to her Rosslare duties in place of the on loan 26,904gt/2008 built Stena Flavia. The 24,828gt/1981 built Stena Europe endured a prolonged overhaul period at A&P Falmouth, finally heading home to Fishguard on 14th March.

White Funnel’s Balmoral went to Sharpness for her 2016 dry docking on 4th April. The 2016 sailing programme commenced on 13th May and concludes on 2nd October. The vessel will sail on the Bristol Channel, South Coast, Thames, North Wales, North West Coast, Isle of Man and on the River Clyde. The timetable for the preserved passenger ship is now available online at www.whitefunnel.co.uk. Charters may also occupy the Balmoral at times during her season. A Coastal Communities Fund grant of £52,000 has also been awarded to White Funnel. The MV Balmoral Fund Ltd. will also revise its name to the MV Balmoral Charitable Trust Ltd.

Wightlink’s 5,359gt/2001 built flagship St. Clare returned to service in February following remodelling works at A&P Falmouth. The upper fixed car deck has been extended out to the bow/stern in readiness for double deck loading operations when new linkspans are installed on the Portsmouth-Fishbourne, Isle of Wight service in connection with a new ferry to be built.