Brittany Ferries fleet movements

Started by Collision-course, February 02, 2009, 08:13:57 PM

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mrwt.nsf

Like the new look for the forum :). This is a very interesting development and I can't wait to hear more.
The rumours on the Dover Forum were that the Norman Voyager is to be renamed Etretat and the implications of this on DFDS will be interesting to see.

As for the type of vessel, well Viscentini have made a name for themselves with these Ro-Pax vessels, as they are best ships to serve the ferry industry at the moment, which is why they are so successful. 

Steven

#61
Quote from: Oscar Wilde on February 08, 2014, 12:59:56 AM
I don't know about any of you on here but I am starting to get a bit fed up of these style ships. Who had them now? - Irish Ferries and Celtic l ferries and stena and LD and carnote tourist and dfds and norfolkline and other companies and now Brittany ferries! Who will get one of these style ships next? Probably p&o ferries or someone. Plus I see that Brittany ferries are calling this an ecenomy service. They must be copying Irish ferries idea!

I wouldn't doubt seeing more of them to be honest as they appear to be an operators dream.  They have very low running costs, high freight capacity, adequate passenger accommodation (especially on the Stena Lagan/Mersey where they are almost like mini-Superfasts), high reliability, etc.  I believe there is also scope for them to be expanded as well and they seem very flexible - for example Stena operate Flavia on the Travemunde-Ventspils (a 22 hour crossing) whereas IF can operate Cartour Epsilon between Dublin and Holyhead (I assume economically).  If there ever is an Ireland to Spain service chances are it will be one of these (or similar type) operating it.  The days of the cruise ferry are over - with escalating fuel costs, budget airlines and the abolition of duty free, onboard services simply don't pay their way like they used to (Just look at what happened to Scandinavian Seaways who as DFDS can't get enough of the ropax).  The industry has changed unrecognisably since the first ro-ro's which only carried cars and mostly railway passengers, nowadays ro-ro services are freight services primarily (with a few exceptions) which carry passengers as a bonus.

A further evolution was planned of the NAOS/Visentini design but AFAIK this has been shelved due to the financial crisis.  Personally I prefer the Stena Lagan/Mersey to the Stena Superfast which is very high praise indeed (though this is mostly due to the fact there are less people on board!).  In the configuration as they left the Donada yard they are very utilitarian regarding passenger accommodation but with a bit of investment can be quite comfortable indeed.

RE: BF going downmarket, I see this as BF Truckline under another name tbh.
Steve in Belfast (suburbia)

Flickr: www.flickr.com/tarbyonline

Matt73

I agree with Steven that the new BF service is essentially Truckline in all but name; I nearly fell off my chair when I read the tweet about the new service. Good for them and they are clearly determined to ensure that the Western Channel is their domain!

With the advent of the new LNG ship and the conversion to LNG of Mont St Michelle, Pont Aven and Amorique, what will become of the Normandie?  It seems that Bretagne will be phased out when the newbuild arrives.

Matt

Steven

Unless there is a change in market conditions Bretagne is probably headed for a beach somewhere TBH.  Hard to see where she could go. Personally I hope DFDS stay and fight rather than doing a P&O and pulling out.  DFDS must be taking business off BF for them to go to the lengths to charter another ship and start a no frills operation to match them (rather than lower their fares in the first place - the current BF lowest fare to Caen is twice that of DFDS's to Le Havre!)
Steve in Belfast (suburbia)

Flickr: www.flickr.com/tarbyonline

Matt73

Thanks for that Steven.  Re the Caen route, how is business going there for Brittany Ferries there these days?  I recall reading last year that loadings were down, when comparied to the Spanish routes.  Caen really transformerd their fortunes back in the mid-80s and I have always found it ironic that the terminal at Ouistreham was first offered to Townsend Thoresen, who arrogantly turned it down because it took an hour longer to get from Portsmouth; those who took that decision must have rued the day given what has happened since.

Matt

giftgrub

The Norman Voyager is to be renamed Etretat when it joins the Brittany Ferries Economie fleet.

Image and details of the service now on the website.

http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/economie



Steven

The following has been compiled from a number of sources (including discussion forums) and so shouldn't be taken as "gospel"

Regarding the Brittany Ferries PEGASIS order, it appears that the finance may not be in place for work to begin before 2015.  More interestingly, there is also some talk that not only will the new ship not be owned by Brittany Ferries (surprise, surprise) but by Sica de St Pol de Leon one of the vegetable producing cooperatives which helped found Brittany Ferries, but it will also be partially funded by the French state (an initial figure of EUR 30M is floating about plus EU aid to STX to develop the technology for the vessel - neither of these amounts are capped it would seem) who will also be loaning cash (in the form of repayable advances) to build the ship.  Additionally it would also appear that the investment in converting some of the rest of the BF fleet is not actually being paid for by BF, but at least partially by the EU who are also funding the research into providing refueling restructure at Roscoff and Santander.  Most interestingly to me is that the technology to build the ship does not appear to currently exist and that many technical challenges still need to be overcome.  What is clear though is that when the process is finished STX France (ironically a Korean company) will be a technological leader in LNG propulsion and will have gained that knowledge at least partially through EU subsidy and will it seems be free to charge others for the use of that technology.

Some sources
http://www.greenport.com/news101/marine-civils/lng/eu-grant-for-analysing-lng-potential
http://www.meretmarine.com/fr/content/gros-plan-sur-le-futur-navire-de-brittany-ferries
Ferries of Northern Europe Yahoo group
BFEnthusiasts Forum.
Steve in Belfast (suburbia)

Flickr: www.flickr.com/tarbyonline

Collision-course

Interesting , as usual the French are going to great lengths to get around EU state aid rules. Yet if an Irish or British company did similar there would be uproar in France with ports blockaded.

Steven

Quote from: Collision-course on February 18, 2014, 01:43:47 AM
Interesting , as usual the French are going to great lengths to get around EU state aid rules. Yet if an Irish or British company did similar there would be uproar in France with ports blockaded.

Exactly what I was thinking - didn't see the EU searching for ways to fund our shipyards through new technology investment!  Of course, not much of the above is official but there is a familiar "smell" to it all.
Steve in Belfast (suburbia)

Flickr: www.flickr.com/tarbyonline

Collision-course

#69
Well I have no objection to the EU supporting European shipbuilding through new technology support , so long as its available to ALL European yards and not just French ones.
I am sure Stena Line (or P&O) would be thrilled to receive EU money to build an LNG powered prototype for its Northern Corridor services at H&W  ;D

Steven

Quote from: Collision-course on February 18, 2014, 02:52:48 AM
Well I have no objection to the EU supporting European shipbuilding through new technology support , so long as its available to ALL European yards and not just French ones.
I am sure Stena Line (or P&O) would be thrilled to receive EU money to build an LNG powered prototype for its Northern Corridor services at H&W  ;D
Stena seem to prefer going the methanol route anyway.  I suppose when your network is so spread out the infrastructure investment is disproportionate compared to an operator such as BF with a network concentrated mostly in a single area (Western Channel).  Its becoming pretty clear that STX are going to lead the way in LNG + dual fuel given Viking Grace was also an STX (Finland) build.

It appears Fjord line refuel daily whilst BF are going to do so weekly.  Given that in order to travel the same distance you need twice the volume of LNG (from memory) as fuel oil it will be interesting to see how they accommodate such large tanks while allaying safety concerns (especially regarding potential collisions) given that a spark could turn the ship into a massive bomb!  There is also going to be the facility for her to run on conventional fuel as a reserve but interestingly instead of directly driving the propellers from the engines they plan to use a diesel-electric arrangement (I assume similar to that used in trains) which is something I always wondered why nobody had tried before.

Did anybody notice the crew numbers?  Mer et Maritime state she will have a crew of 189 accommodated in 200 berths.  By comparison Stena Britannnica carries a crew of 85!  BF's cost cutting program does't appear to be going too well!
Steve in Belfast (suburbia)

Flickr: www.flickr.com/tarbyonline

Collision-course

Brittany Ferries always have high crew compliments on their vessels , its part of their 5 star service ethos , although this will most likely not carry over to their new economy service.
I believe a lot of the problems with LNG have been overcome , I read somewhere that Viking Grace's fuel has an additive in it that should the LNG come into contact with air it will turn into an inert gas , the main issue that is still to be refined is the high pressure storage tanks , while the fuel in the tanks will become harmless in the event the tank is breached , the explosive decompression from a tank breach is still to be overcome.

bfm003

Quote from: Steven on February 18, 2014, 02:47:50 PM
Quote from: Collision-course on February 18, 2014, 02:52:48 AM
Well I have no objection to the EU supporting European shipbuilding through new technology support , so long as its available to ALL European yards and not just French ones.
I am sure Stena Line (or P&O) would be thrilled to receive EU money to build an LNG powered prototype for its Northern Corridor services at H&W  ;D
Stena seem to prefer going the methanol route anyway.  I suppose when your network is so spread out the infrastructure investment is disproportionate compared to an operator such as BF with a network concentrated mostly in a single area (Western Channel).  Its becoming pretty clear that STX are going to lead the way in LNG + dual fuel given Viking Grace was also an STX (Finland) build.

It appears Fjord line refuel daily whilst BF are going to do so weekly.  Given that in order to travel the same distance you need twice the volume of LNG (from memory) as fuel oil it will be interesting to see how they accommodate such large tanks while allaying safety concerns (especially regarding potential collisions) given that a spark could turn the ship into a massive bomb!  There is also going to be the facility for her to run on conventional fuel as a reserve but interestingly instead of directly driving the propellers from the engines they plan to use a diesel-electric arrangement (I assume similar to that used in trains) which is something I always wondered why nobody had tried before.

Did anybody notice the crew numbers?  Mer et Maritime state she will have a crew of 189 accommodated in 200 berths.  By comparison Stena Britannnica carries a crew of 85!  BF's cost cutting program does't appear to be going too well!

Eh? You mean like almost every modern cruise ship?
Cruise ships have been diesel electric for years now. With main propulsion supplied from big propulsion motors. Instead of say for example the ships have four main engines and four generator engines modern cruise ships will have a lot more generator engines and no main engines.

Steven

Quote from: MAKman on February 18, 2014, 08:08:49 PM
Quote from: Steven on February 18, 2014, 02:47:50 PM
Quote from: Collision-course on February 18, 2014, 02:52:48 AM
Well I have no objection to the EU supporting European shipbuilding through new technology support , so long as its available to ALL European yards and not just French ones.
I am sure Stena Line (or P&O) would be thrilled to receive EU money to build an LNG powered prototype for its Northern Corridor services at H&W  ;D
Stena seem to prefer going the methanol route anyway.  I suppose when your network is so spread out the infrastructure investment is disproportionate compared to an operator such as BF with a network concentrated mostly in a single area (Western Channel).  Its becoming pretty clear that STX are going to lead the way in LNG + dual fuel given Viking Grace was also an STX (Finland) build.

It appears Fjord line refuel daily whilst BF are going to do so weekly.  Given that in order to travel the same distance you need twice the volume of LNG (from memory) as fuel oil it will be interesting to see how they accommodate such large tanks while allaying safety concerns (especially regarding potential collisions) given that a spark could turn the ship into a massive bomb!  There is also going to be the facility for her to run on conventional fuel as a reserve but interestingly instead of directly driving the propellers from the engines they plan to use a diesel-electric arrangement (I assume similar to that used in trains) which is something I always wondered why nobody had tried before.

Did anybody notice the crew numbers?  Mer et Maritime state she will have a crew of 189 accommodated in 200 berths.  By comparison Stena Britannnica carries a crew of 85!  BF's cost cutting program does't appear to be going too well!

Eh? You mean like almost every modern cruise ship?
Cruise ships have been diesel electric for years now. With main propulsion supplied from big propulsion motors. Instead of say for example the ships have four main engines and four generator engines modern cruise ships will have a lot more generator engines and no main engines.

I was referring to ferries though.  Are you aware of any other large diesel-electric ferries, I certainly cant think of any (but could be wrong, though I think there are some examples of smaller passenger ferries)?  Part of me can see this becoming Brittany Ferries HSS.
Steve in Belfast (suburbia)

Flickr: www.flickr.com/tarbyonline

Steven

#74
The daily mirror published an article about economie last week.  The way its worded you would think Brittany Ferries invented few frills ferry travel (rather than doing the opposite all these years"

QuoteBrittany Ferries is planning budget weekend crossings between Portsmouth and Santander in northern Spain and weekdays to Le Havre in Normandy from March 25


No frills: Brittany Ferries' new 'economie' service
After no-frills flights comes... the no-frills ferry service.

Brittany Ferries is planning budget weekend crossings between Portsmouth and Santander in northern Spain and weekdays to Le Havre in Normandy from March 25.

The service is branded 'economie' and will offer low fares minus the usual cruise-style experience on a vessel chartered from Stena Line.

Passengers can still expect decent Gallic grub on board – though with a limited choice – and cabins will all be en-suite, but without carpets.

There will be a lounge where seats can be reserved for overnight crossings and pet-friendly and accessible cabins. Entertainment will be restricted to a film lounge.

One way fares for a car plus two passengers this spring will start at £79 to France and £169 to Spain, including reclining seats.

A Brittany Ferries spokesman said: "We feel that there is an opening for a no-frills, great-value service which will appeal to those who are on a tight budget and may not have even considered travelling by ferry before.

''While economie will not provide the same high level of service and facilities with which Brittany Ferries has become associated, it will offer something altogether simpler and with exceptional value."

The move follows the introduction of a rival service by LD Lines, who launched crossings between Poole and Santander in November.

Bookings will open online at brittanyferries.com/economie in a few weeks, but registrations can now be made on 0871 244 1400
http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/brittany-ferries-launches-no-frills-economie-3145809?

No carpets in the cabins? Does that mean wooden floors then? ;) :D
Steve in Belfast (suburbia)

Flickr: www.flickr.com/tarbyonline