Brittany Ferries’ Armorique (above) arrived at Portsmouth on 27th September to relieve the Mont St. Michel. The latter had gone to Cherbourg the previous day to de-store prior to sailing to Santander for refit & scrubber installation. In 2016 the company will enlist a further 400 personnel due to the increase in passenger carryings in 2015. 

CLdN enhanced its Portugal service from 28th September by including a London call and deploying one of its newest ro-ro ships to increase trailer and container capacity. The expansion reflects the strength of the Portuguese market for both cars, containers, trailers and all other rolling cargo. The service sails from Leixões on Friday at 0001 to arrive in London on Monday at 1800 from where she will continue to Zeebrugge at 0001. She will return on a Tuesday at 1800 from Zeebrugge to arrive in Leixões on Friday at 0900. 

Corsica Ferries’ Mega Express Four was damaged during a berthing accident in Nice on 15th September after striking the quayside causing damage to both the quay and the ship. The ferry was withdrawn for repairs. 

DFDS Seaways officially took control of MyFerryLink’s Berlioz & Rodin on 16th September in Dunkirk under a bareboat charter agreement originally signed at the beginning of June. Eurotunnel are claiming €22.7 million for the damages caused to the Rodin during the crew occupation but the Liquidator disputes this and has made a counter claim of €6.4million. The trademark DFDS Maltese Cross, in use for almost 150 years, was revised in September by removing the circle around it and adding a darker shade of blue. DFDS says that the darker blue signifies a “solid, yet sophisticated” company, and it has a maritime touch to it.” 

GEFCO UK Ltd. confirmed its intention to commence a car transporter service to the port of Ramsgate in early October. Thanet council has granted a licence to the transport and logistics company who import and distribute 500,000 vehicles annually through UK ports for several major vehicle manufacturers. Operations were due to start in October once dredging work had been finished. 

IoMSPCo intends to keep the fast ferry Manannan in Doulglas in a stand-by mode until after Christmas 2015, beyond her season finale of 8th November. Along with the arrow, she will be available to cover for any breakdowns during the busy festive period rather than risk a repeat of the problems caused in the past when the Ben-My-Chree has gone technical when back up is unavailable. 

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has cancelled its order of six new ferries following widespread criticism of the ferries’ modern design. Four new double-ended ferries were introduced to Istanbul’s ferry fleet over the summer of 2015. The municipality’s plan was to build up a 10-ship fleet with the arrival of six new ships with the same modern design. Despite the ships’ technical advantages in terms of speed, eco-friendliness and accessibility for disabled users, they faced widespread criticism over their untraditional and modern appearance. The lack of promised consultation with the people of Istanbul regarding the new vessels also played a part in the objections. 

Navimag’s 9,737gt/1976 built ro-ro ferry Amadeo I (above), which ran aground and capsized off southern Chile in august 2014, was towed some 70km off Diego de Almagro Island and scuttled on 21st September. The ship initially came to grief en route from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt when she hit a rock and ran aground in Kirke Canal, some 100 nautical miles north west of Punta Arenas on 18th august 2014. The vessel suffered a breach starboard, causing it to take on water and capsize in coastal shallows, with most of the hull lying above the water. The Amadeo I was sunk in 2,700m deep waters, bringing to an end a year-long salvage operation assigned to Florida-based resolve Marine group. Navimag decided to sink the ferry after insurance agents inspected the vessel and declared it to be a total write-off. The Amadeo I was towed by the tug resolve Commander, after Chile’s Directorate general of Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine granted permission for the vessel to be sunk. The scuttling was monitored by armada de Chile. 

P&O Ferries’ Express made her final Larne- Troon sailings on 30th September with the vessel now to be relocated to Sweden for a new career. The Express departed Larne for the final time on 2nd October for dry dock in Belfast prior to bidding farewell to the UK. 

SC Line has secured a new ro-ro service linking the USA with Cuba with the Panama owned company calling fortnightly at Mariel and Santiago de Cuba from Florida’s Port Everglades. The Caroline Russ made her first commercial voyage in early October. 

St. Peter Line has received a considerable investment by Chinese private equity firm Maorui Capital (a 25% stake) for a reported €200m. St. Peter Line hopes to buy up to six large cruise ferries from existing tonnage between 2016 and 2020. These would be split up into three pairs, with one pair going to the Baltic, one pair to the Black Sea and one pair to the South Korea-China-Russian Far East market.