FährNews Aktuell – Issue March 2025

Unity Line sells WOLIN, STENA LIVIA leaves Stena Line fleet and much more. | FährNews Current

Hello and welcome to the March issue of FährNews Aktuell in 2025. The top topics of this episode are presented by ferry-guide.com, where you can easily book Ferries online:

• Unity Line sells WOLIN – Where it goes from here for Ferry
• STENA LIVIA leaves Stena Line fleet – a move to the other side of the world is imminent
• And: Delays in new Molslinjen buildings – where there are now changes to the deployment plans

The top topics of the March issue of FährNews Aktuell were presented by ferry-guide.com, the easy online booking platform for your ferry crossing. But here we go with this issue of FährNews Aktuell.

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And here is the entire March issue of FährNews Aktuell for you to read again:

1 Unity Line sells WOLIN

[1] The Polish shipping company Unity Line has sold the ro-paxFerry WOLIN to the Greek company A-Ships Management. The ship, which was handed over on March 18, 2025, now bears the name GOLDEN CARRIER and will soon be deployed on a new route.

The Ferry was built in Norway in 1986 as a pure train/freight ferry for SweFerry and initially operated for DanLink on the Helsingborg-Copenhagen route under the name ØRESUND. In July 2000, she was transferred to the Copenhagen-Malmö route, which was operated by Scandlines which was operated by A year later, in 2001, it was sold to Sea Containers. The Ferry was then converted into a RoPaxFerry at the Landskrona and Remontowa shipyards. This conversion was completed in 2002.

After the conversion, the ship was chartered to SeaWind Line, renamed SKY WIND and deployed on the Stockholm-Långnäs-Turku route, where it remained until August 2007. It was then sold to Unity Line and operated under the name WOLIN on the Świnoujście-Trelleborg route until it was decommissioned on January 31, 2025.

A new task now lies ahead: the GOLDEN CARRIER is due to arrive in Greece at the beginning of April, where minor adjustments will be made. It will then enter service on an Adriatic route from June 2025. The ship offers space for 370 passengers and has 1,770 loading meters for vehicles. With a service speed of 18 knots, it will transport freight and passengers through the Mediterranean in future.

2 STENA LIVIA leaves Stena Line fleet

[2] The New Zealand ferry company StraitNZ Bluebridge is expanding its fleet with the acquisition of the STENA LIVIA from the Swedish shipping company Stena Line.

[3] Built in 2008 at the Cantiere Navale Visentini shipyard, the STENA LIVIA is 186.5 meters long and 25.6 meters wide. It offers space for 880 passengers and has a cargo capacity of 2,255 loading meters.

If you would like to find out more about the STENA LIVIA, take a look at our FährNews Spotlight issue. You can find the link in the info box at the top right or in the video description.

[4] The STENA LIVIA currently sails between Travemünde in northern Germany and Liepāja in Latvia. After the end of her service for Stena Line, the STENA LIVIA will be extensively refurbished and renamed during a dry dock stay in Europe. She is due to join the Cook Strait fleet in July 2025. There she will join her sister CONNEMARA, which already became part of the Cook Strait fleet in 2023.
The STENA LIVIA will replace the STRAIT FERONIA, which was built in 1997, and will offer 10 percent more space for vehicles while increasing passenger capacity and comfort.

3 Delays in new Molslinjen buildings

[5] The Danish shipping company Molslinjen has adjusted its deployment plans due to delays in the construction of its new electric ferries.

[6] The Ferry NERTHUS, which was originally intended for use on the Alslinjen route between Bøjden and Fynshav, has now finally completed its first sea trials at the Cemre shipyard in Turkey.

[5] It is expected to go into operation on June 16, 2025, but initially on the Samsølinjen route.

[6] Her sister ferry TYRFING, which is destined for Samsølinjen between Ballen and Kalundborg, will also be delayed. Both ships were originally due to enter service in late summer 2024 and early 2025 respectively.

The Ferries developed by OSK Design are based on state-of-the-art technology: the NERTHUS has a battery capacity of 3.1 MWh and will serve the Fynshav-Bøjden route in the long term. The battery capacity of the TYRFING is slightly higher at 3.8 MWh.

Both ships are prepared for autonomous ferries between ports. Thanks to automatic docking and charging at the quay wall, the Echandia batteries are fully charged within 20 to 25 minutes. The Ferries are 116.8 meters long and offer space for 600 passengers and 188 cars.

[5] Until the NERTHUS is deployed for the first time, the Ferry FYNSHAV will operate up to four daily double crossings on the Samsølinjen route. Molslinjen is also introducing a new pricing model, with ticket prices from 99 Danish kroner and a maximum price of 392 kroner for standard cars in the high season.

There are also the following newsflashes this month:

4 DFDS unveils new Jersey designFerry

[7] DFDS recently unveiled the design of its new ro-paxFerry for Jersey. The 20-year contract with the Jersey Government, which starts on March 28, 2025, includes services from Jersey to Poole and Portsmouth in the UK and Saint-Malo in France. Initially, the chartered ro-pax STENA VINGA, the ro-ro vessel ARROW and the high-speed ferries LEVANTE JET and TARIFA JET will be deployed. In the long term, DFDS plans to introduce an all-electric aluminum catamaran ferry for the Saint-Malo route by 2028, followed by a purpose-built ro-ro vessel in 2030 and the new conventional ro-paxFerry in 2031.

If you would like to experience the new ferry operator on the routes to and from Jersey for yourself, then book your ferry ticket with our partner ferry-guide.com. Here you can also see all alternative crossing options directly when you make your booking if, for example, a departure does not fit into your schedule. You will also receive a price overview of the individual shipping companies during the booking process. At Ferry-guide.com you can easily book ferries online. You can also find the link to ferry-guide.com at the top of the video description or at the end of this video in the endcard.

5 PELAGOS sold

[8] The French shipping company LA MÉRIDIONALE has sold its RoPax ship PELAGOS to Cypriot buyers, who are expected to deploy the ship in the Red Sea. Built in 1997 by Cantiere Navale Visentini, the PELAGOS is 186 meters long and 26 meters wide, offers a cargo capacity of 2,300 loading meters and has 72 cabins with a total of 285 beds and 70 Pullman seats, which corresponds to a total capacity of 370 passengers. Until a few weeks ago, the PELAGOS operated on the Marseille-Tanger Med route. Prior to its acquisition by LA MÉRIDIONALE in 2019, the ship was in service for DFDS under the name LIVERPOOL SEAWAYS.

6 GG5G class completely transferred

[9] The Grimaldi Group has taken delivery of the ECO NAPOLI, the last ship in its GG5G class, thus completing its hybrid ro-ro fleet of 14 ships. The ship, which flies the Italian flag, can transport 7,800 lane meters of freight – with the same fuel consumption as previous models, halving CO₂ emissions per unit. Thanks to batteries and solar cells, it can operate emission-free in port. The ECO NAPOLI is deployed in the Mediterranean on the route between Turkey, Greece and Italy.

7 KRITI II sold for scrapping

[10] The Greek shipping company ANEK Lines has sold its RoPax ferry KRITI II for 3.6 million US dollars for scrapping. According to ATTICA GROUP, the company made a profit of 0.2 million euros.
The ship, which was built in Japan in 1979, was acquired by ANEK Lines in 1996 and was one of the largest RoPaxFerries ferries on the route between Patras and Italy. From June 1997, it operated on the Patras-Igoumenitsa-Ancona route, and later also on the Patras-Igoumenitsa-Corfu-Venice and Patras-Igoumenitsa-Trieste routes. In domestic ferry traffic, it was mainly used on the Piraeus-Heraklion route. In 2009, it was briefly deployed on the Piraeus-Chios-Mytilene-Limnos-Thessaloniki route.

After 28 years in service for ANEK Lines, this era is now over. The KRITI II is already in the Turkish scrapping port of Aliaga. Meanwhile, her sister ship KRITI I is still awaiting her fate.

But that will be it for the March issue of FährNews Aktuell in 2025. Did you like the issue? Then leave with pleasure a Like there. If you have any other comments or requests, feel free to write us a comment. We look forward to your feedback!

To book your ferry crossing, you can now click on the link to Faehren.net. Otherwise, please leave another subscription! If you haven’t had enough of FerryNews, we can recommend the latest issue of FerryNews News. Among other things, it dealt with the progress of Gotlandsbolaget’s Horizon X project and the new name of the Copenhagen-Oslo link. Have fun and see you soon!

Sources

• [1] sandra, “Unity Line sells WOLIN to A-Ships Management”, Ferry Shipping News. Accessed: March 27, 2025 [Online]. Available at: https://ferryshippingnews.com/unity-line-sells-wolin-to-a-ships-management/
• [2] “StraitNZ Bluebridge secures new vessel for Cook Strait”, TRANSPORTtalk: Truck and Industry Equipment News. Accessed: March 28, 2025 [Online]. Available at: https://transporttalk.co.nz/news/straitnz-bluebridge-secures-new-vessel-for-cook-strait
• [3] B. Maritime, “Stena Livia to serve New Zealand’s Cook Strait link from August”, Baird Maritime / Work Boat World. Accessed: March 28, 2025 [Online]. Available at: https://www.bairdmaritime.com/passenger/ro-pax/stena-livia-to-serve-new-zealands-cook-strait-link-from-august
• [4] “StraitNZ enhances Cook Strait ferry fleet with STENA LIVIA”, Shippax. Accessed: March 28, 2025 [Online]. Available at: https://www.shippax.com/en/news/straitnz-enhances-cook-strait-ferry-fleet-with-stena-livia.aspx
• [5] sandra, “Molslinjen Adjusts Ferry Plans Due to Delays”, Ferry Shipping News. Accessed March 27, 2025 [Online]. Available at: https://ferryshippingnews.com/molslinjen-adjusts-ferry-plans-due-to-delays/
• [6] “NERTHUS out on sea trials”, Shippax. Accessed March 27, 2025 [Online]. Available at: https://www.shippax.com/en/news/nerthus-out-on-sea-trials.aspx
• [7] “Rendering of DFDS’ new Jersey ro-pax unveiled”, Shippax. Accessed March 28, 2025 [Online]. Available at: https://www.shippax.com/en/news/rendering-of-dfds-new-jersey-ro-pax-unveiled.aspx
• [8] sandra, “RoPax PELAGOS sold by LA MÉRIDIONALE to Cypriot interests”, Ferry Shipping News. Accessed: March 27, 2025 [Online]. Available at: https://ferryshippingnews.com/ships/
• [9] sandra, “Grimaldi Group Takes Delivery of ECO NAPOLI, Completing GG5G Fleet”, Ferry Shipping News. Accessed: March 28, 2025 [Online]. Available at: https://ferryshippingnews.com/grimaldi-group-takes-delivery-of-eco-napoli-completing-gg5g-fleet/
• [10] sandra, “ANEK LINES’ KRITI II Sold for Scrap”, Ferry Shipping News. Accessed March 27, 2025 [Online]. Available at: https://ferryshippingnews.com/anek-lines-kriti-ii-sold-for-scrap/

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