2 6 MARKETWATCH Viking Lines’ new ferry, Viking Glory, underwent final outfitting at Finland’s Port of Turku, in preparation for when she began service on 1 March 2022. The ship arrived in port on 6 February and was welcomed by the port by the Arma Aboa Association’s artillery of cannons, daytime fireworks and the navy band’s ceremonial marches under the direction of Viking Line’s mascot, Ville Viking. The celebration was streamed live online for the general public. Viking Glory is now operating on the Turku-MariehamnStockholm route, having replaced Amorelia which will move to Helsinki. The new flagship will increase capacity on the route by about 10 per cent. Viking Glory starts service in Scandinavia Netherlands-based public transport company Gemeentelijk vervoerbedrijf (GVB) is replacing the existing diesel-powered fleet on its North Sea Canal routes in Amsterdam with five new electric ferries. The ferries, which will be equipped with power conversion technology supplied by ABB, will be ready by 2023 as part of GVB’s strategy to become emission-free. The new GVB ferries can carry up to 400 passengers, 20 cars or 4 trucks across the North Sea Canal routes, operating on a 24-hour schedule. Based on a plug-in hybrid design, they will run on electric power from their 680-kilowatt-hour batteries and switch to generator power if weather conditions are above eight on the Beaufort Scale. Finnlines’ new Europalink joined its sister ship, Finnswan, on the route between Naantali, Finland, and Kapellskär, Sweden, on 27 January 2022. Europalink has capacity for 554 passengers and 1,200 lane metres for cargo, making her larger than Finnfellow, which previously operated the same service. Both Europalink and Finnswan will operate morning and night, each departing from either end of the route and call at Långnäs, Lumparland, halfway through the journey. Finnfellow will now offer sailings between Malmö, Sweden, and Travemünde, Germany. GVB to roll out five new electric ferries for Amsterdam Læsø Municipality has contracted DanishNorwegian Ferry Consortium (DANOF) to design and develop a new ferry that will travel between Frederikshavn, Denmark, and Læsø, an island in the North Sea that is 19 kilometres off the nearest coast of the Jutland Peninsula. The existing Læsø ferry, Margrete Læsø, was built in 1996 at the North Sea shipyard in Ringkøbing, Denmark. The new ferry is expected to be ready in 2024 for operating the 1.5-hour journey between Frederikshavn and Læsø, replacing Margrete Læsø. “With DANOF’s great competencies within ship and ferry design, we are in safe hands and well equipped to be able to acquire a new ferry capacity for the benefit of Læsø’s population and guests,” said Tobias Birch Johansen, mayor of Læsø. Danish-Norwegian Ferry Consortium orders new Læsø ferry New ferry doubles Finnlines’ passenger capacity
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