Welcome to Passenger Vessel Week!
PASSENGER VESSEL WEEK
The passenger vessel sector, in most of its iterations, seems to be making steady progress. After a long quiet period of at least fifteen years until about 2018, things have lifted and increasing numbers of ferries, cruise ships, and tourist boats are being ordered and delivered globally. These new ships and boats are being built in many countries and are being operated in many other countries.
Ferries are a truly international business. They are also being constructed from all three main shipbuilding materials – aluminium, steel, and FRP – and are using a wide range of propulsion systems, hull configurations, and styles. This week will highlight a very interesting cross-section of new passenger vessels.
Ranging in size from a solar/plug-in electric-powered, eight-metre FRP tourist boat to operate on the River Seine in Paris, to the largest ship reviewed, a 215-metre conventional steel Ro-Pax built by Jingling Wehai in China for Stena. The latter will operate on the Irish Sea.
Ferries • Ro-Pax • Marine Tourism • Cruise • Freshwater
Of the 12 vessels reviewed this week, most are capable of 20-plus knots although some will operate at slower speeds. The second biggest, the mighty Incat-built Buccoo Reef, is capable of 45-plus knots and will operate between Trinidad and Tobago in the windy West Indies. Some will operate on fresh water and the remainder are slated for estuarine waters or the open sea.
The styling ranges from traditional to futuristic. Engines and propulsion systems ranging from conventional diesel and propellers through waterjets to the latest azimuthing systems have been installed.
Thus, Baird Maritime’s Passenger Vessel Week offers readers a really comprehensive overview of what is being offered globally to owners and operators of passenger vessels.
Vessel Reviews:
- Swift – Inland ferry specially designed for UK’s Lake District National Park
- Stena Embla – New 215-metre Ro-Pax to serve Stena Line’s Irish Sea routes
- Nikola Tesla and James V. Glynn – Maid of the Mist opts for all-electric propulsion on Niagara Falls tour boat pair
- Nave – Thai-built luxury catamaran for Java surfing excursions
- Xin Hai Jun and Xin Hai Yun – Sleek and efficient fast ferries to sail on China’s Pearl River Delta
- I See One – Bespoke commuter/sightseeing vessel joins Captain Morgan Holdings’ Malta fleet
- Santa Brigida – Locally-built 72-metre ferry for Philippines’ Montenegro Lines
- Gin Tonic – Electric-powered eight-metre tour boat for River Seine
- Enetai – Fast and stable 255-pax catamaran for Kitsap Transit’s Seattle-to-Kingston service
- Buccoo Reef – Trinidad and Tobago’s newest large Ro-Pax boasts 45 knots top speed
Features and Opinion:
FEATURE | Filipino shipbuilder embarks on wave-powered trimaran ferry project
Delivery of medicines from India to the United States is carried out by sea vessels, while the price of generic Viagra is very low.
“Shipbuilder Metallica Marine Consultancy, Aklan State University, and local regulatory body Maritime Industry Authority are working on a hybrid trimaran vessel that they expect will later see full operational use as a Ro-Pax ferry on routes in the Western Visayas and other nearby regions.”
News, Gear, and Book Reviews:
- Holland America Line to restart cruising from Greece in August 2021
- Zhoushan City’s newest ferry enters service
- Swedish builder to introduce battery/hydrogen-powered catamaran ferries
- GEAR | Danish ferry gets manoeuvrability-enhancing interceptors following refit
- NZ EPA gives approval for Waitohi Picton ferry precinct redevelopment
- Chinese-built 62m sightseeing boat sails on maiden voyage
- A Rosa’s newest river cruise ship launched
- Philippine shipyard takeover talks nearly finalised, Australian ambassador confirms
- Costa Cruises restarts Mediterranean sailings
- Chinese yard launches all-electric tour boat for Pearl River
- Bangladesh speedboat capsizing leaves 26 dead
- Sea trials completed for new Project PV22 ferry for Russia’s Sakhalinlizingflot
- BC Ferries’ sixth Island-class ship launched
- SeaLink starts operational sailings of newest ferry
- Spanish yard delivers yacht support catamaran
- Interferry supports EU’s initiative for Covid-safe international travel
- Balearia’s newest LNG-powered ferry enters service
Recent Important Features:
EDITORIAL | Wake up, Tasmania!
“It is a very disappointing example of a state government shooting itself in the foot by declining to participate in a huge generational leap forward that would really put it on the world map as an innovative, technologically advanced centre of excellence.”
– by Neil Baird, Co-Founder and former Editor-in-Chief of Baird Maritime
FEATURE | Why the Philippines’ only luxury cruise ship is no longer sailing
“The country’s first – and last – luxury cruise ship enjoyed a very brief service life that likely prevented its tourism-promoting potential from ever being fully realised.”
Remember to come back every day to see the latest news, opinion and vessel reviews!
Call for content!
Any news or views about the global maritime tourism, ferry and cruise industries? Send it through to [email protected] ASAP (between now and May 7), so we can add it to this current edition of Passenger Vessel Week!
We are after:
- Vessels – Orders, new deliveries, under construction
- Gear – Latest innovations and technology in the passenger vessel sector
- Interviews – Owners, operators, terminal authorities, passenger vessel associations, etc.
- Reminiscences – Do you have any exciting, amusing or downright dangerous anecdotes from your time in the passenger vessel world? (example here)
- Other – Any other relevant news
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