International Ferry Intelligence
Short notes for ferry and ro-pax operators, shipyards, suppliers, ports, and investors. Each item links its primary source.
Ferry Intel Issue #1, 3 September – 14 October 2026
SeaLink has confirmed that Sealion 2000 will operate alongside new ferry Wanggami after Kangaroo Island ramp upgrades, with Wanggami now in Port Adelaide as the operator firms up the service shutdown and transition timetable.
A ban on all sailings from the three main ports serving Athens was extended into Wednesday evening as gale-force winds swept the Aegean, disrupting ferry services to the Greek islands.
After its final Poole–Cherbourg sailing, Brittany Ferries' 1992-built Barfleur has made its first crossing from Cherbourg to Rosslare, where it will cover the France–Ireland route for October while Commodore Clipper's return slips to early December.
Grandi Navi Veloci has sold the ro-pax GNV Azzurra for demolition, with a tow to Aliaga in Turkey expected at the end of October, after a June engine-room fire made repairs uneconomic; GNV says the exit does not change its operating plans.
A civil court in Genoa has ordered classification society RINA to pay more than €60 million to around 700 relatives of victims of the 2006 Red Sea ferry disaster, finding its omissions the main cause of the sinking. RINA says it strongly disagrees.
Italy's Lazio Region received no offers in its third attempt to tender subsidised ferry links to Ponza and Ventotene, worth up to €140.86 million. Laziomar runs the services under a bridging contract that lasts to the end of the year.
Seastreak and Atlantic City developer interests are in preliminary talks about a trial high-speed ferry from lower Manhattan to Atlantic City, possibly by Memorial Day 2027, using the operator's two 600-seat catamarans.
Barcelona has been allocated 80 MW of transmission capacity through a high-voltage link with Red Eléctrica, supporting its Nexigen shore power plan, with the port substation due in early 2027.
Turkey's Nova Shipyard has launched Inis Oirr Express, the second of two 31-metre, 295-passenger aluminium ferries for French operator Vedettes Jolie France.
Remontowa Shipbuilding in Gdańsk has laid the keels for the fourth and fifth of seven all-electric ferries for Scotland's CMAL, with the first due for delivery in late 2027.
Philippine fast craft operator OceanJet will start a daily Bohol–Siquijor–Misamis Occidental service on 23 October 2026.
Interferry has announced three Ferry Leaders Panels for its 50th conference in Bangkok (31 October–4 November), with leaders from Stena Line, Grimaldi, Viking Line, Attica, Jadrolinija and others.
A sickout by 23 engine-room staff on 5 October left 13 of Washington State Ferries' 18 vessels out of service at some point, amid long-running disputes over staffing and pay.
Philippine investigators say improperly stowed cargo including lithium-ion batteries is among the strongest theories for the 9 September fire on the M/V June Aster, which killed 77 people.
Grimaldi's new methanol-ready RoPax ferries from China Merchants will serve Livorno–Palermo, Igoumenitsa–Brindisi and Piraeus–Heraklion from 2028, with others going to Finnlines.
DFDS is adding ARK FUTURA to its Egypt–Italy freight route from 15 October 2026, giving two departures a week in each direction.
The Highland Council has opened a tender for the detailed design and build of a small electric ro-pax ferry for the Corran–Ardgour crossing, with bids due 10 November 2026.
Baleària will float out the first of two 87-metre battery-electric catamarans for the Strait of Gibraltar at Armón Gijón on 23 October, ahead of service in summer 2027.