Cruise & Ferry Review - Autumn/Winter 2021

8 2 The two ro-pax ferries Trasmapi acquired from the Alaska Department of Transportation were transported to Spain on a semi-submersible heavy-lift vessel via the Panama Canal “After 2020, we have seen a partial recovery in 2021, especially since July, but overall numbers are still well below 2019,” he says. “The number of ferries operating, and the number of crossings offered was heavily reduced in 2020 to adapt supply to the demand. From an economic point of view, we could – or should – have cut services even more, but we still needed to offer the best possible service, especially to guarantee that the local residents had minimum connectivity between the islands. “This has obviously impacted heavily on financial results for 2020. However, as we have a diverse company portfolio and the fact that we are a zero net debt company, this allows us to be optimistic about the future. Although challenges still remain ahead, we also believe there are opportunities, so we are cautiously optimistic about 2022.” As is the case across the global ferry business, in the Balearic Islands there is significant pressure to reduce the environmental impact of ferries. “Between Ibiza and Formentera, we operate within the waters of a National Park and despite the huge financial effort that we, and other operators, have made over the past five years with newbuild vessels that have cut consumption and emissions by more than 50 per cent, this is an ongoing objective. New technologies are becoming economically viable that will, I am sure, require further fleet renewals in the coming future.” Marí Washbourne says that one of the challenges he believes the industry is facing is to ensure that operators are being honest with their clients and with themselves. “I see a lot of ‘green washing’ in the way certain companies project themselves, and the customer often does not have the technical capacity to identify what is genuine and what is not,” he explains. “The ferry industry has a lot of room for improvement, but I also believe that a lot has been invested in recent years by many companies. And this is encouraging to see.” The three new ships joining the fleet are perhaps a stopgap solution to test Trasmapi’s expansion. One day, Marí Washbourne poses, with an eye on emerging technologies, “these ships will be replaced by purpose-designed ships.” CFR INTERV IEW