Tag: asia

1 Comment

Portuguese ferry company buys 10 electric ferries but only 1 battery, then the wrong batteries, then discovers the cannot cope with tides

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA, European Ferry Correspondent From Portugal Resident today: Agonising months of ups and downs with Lisbon’s electric ferry fleet have found a new explanation, if not any useful solution: they were not constructed for the work they are currently struggling to perform. “They should be sailing on lakes”, writes tabloid Correio da Manhã today. Tidal rivers like the Tejo are thus proving exceptionally challenging – as ferry passengers have found out to their intense frustration. Back in 2021, the €52.4 million purchase of 10 electric ferries quickly ran into trouble when it became clear that the state-owned Transtejo ferry … Continue reading Portuguese ferry company buys 10 electric ferries but only 1 battery, then the wrong batteries, then discovers the cannot cope with tides

4 Comments

Channel Islanders sickened as new Danish ferry service cancels sailings on very first day due to ‘technical issues’ only days after hearing there will be no Sunday service at all for more than a hundred thousand of them

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA, International Ferry Correspondent From ITV today: DFDS has cancelled its sailings between Jersey and St Malo for the first day it serves the island. The Danish firm, taking over from Condor, says the cancellations on Friday 28 March are due to “technical issues” with preparing one of their ferries, the Tarifa Jet, to run to and from Jersey. https://www.itv.com/news/channel/2025-03-27/dfds-cancels-sailing-between-jersey-and-france-on-opening-day Surely they checked the boat out a few days beforehand, to enable a professional start to the contract? Kind of makes you think they must be a rubbish company putting profits ahead of passengers? There were warnings. Only two … Continue reading Channel Islanders sickened as new Danish ferry service cancels sailings on very first day due to ‘technical issues’ only days after hearing there will be no Sunday service at all for more than a hundred thousand of them

4 Comments

A passenger pushed to his death, fishermen killed by crew who don’t speak English, car decks flooding, one ferry runs aground because the only man on the bridge pressed the wrong button, really old ferries, high prices, endless cancellations…it kind of makes you think maybe CalMac is the best in the world?

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA Today Red Funnel [should be Red Face] ferries on the Isle of Wight cancel sailings and disrupt travel because they spend too much on shareholder dividends and executive bonuses and thus don’t spend enough on maintenance or replacement.1 In October 2024, a late-arriving passenger was pushed into the screws, to his death, in Greece. Then the crews all went on strike for months, islanders ran out of food and, only three years before a ferry with 530 on board had sunk.2 In July 2024, a Channel Islands ferry kills French fishermen because the crew do not … Continue reading A passenger pushed to his death, fishermen killed by crew who don’t speak English, car decks flooding, one ferry runs aground because the only man on the bridge pressed the wrong button, really old ferries, high prices, endless cancellations…it kind of makes you think maybe CalMac is the best in the world?

3 Comments

Korean ferry fiasco as 7 out of 10 are not equipped to respond to electric vehicle fires

johnrobertson834

It’s never-ending once you start looking abroad, as a Mull Tory councillor from Buckingham, once suggested we do, for ways to improve CalMac, the as he put it, ‘worst ferry service in the world.’ Turns out he was full of hot air. When you do look, you keep finding the opposite and with every investigation it becomes clear that thanks to 17 years of SNP subsidy, Scotland actually has the best – most frequent, most reliable, cheapest and safest – ferry service in the world. Only yesterday, I could write: You can now add Tasmania to New Zealand, Greece, Isle … Continue reading Korean ferry fiasco as 7 out of 10 are not equipped to respond to electric vehicle fires

1 Comment

Scandal as NZ Government seeks to buy unavailable second-hand ferries and keep ‘very end-of-life’ wharf

johnrobertson834

From Radio New Zealand today: KiwiRail says it is now looking at buying second-hand ships for the Cook Strait ferry service, and is asking what to do about the terminals. It has blamed poor project governance in part for cost escalations in its Interislander replacement Project Irex, sunk when the government balked in December at rising terminal rebuild costs. Chief executive Peter Reidy told MPs at a select committee at Parliament there are only 22 second-hand ships worldwide that fit the bill – such as being rugged enough for the Strait – and none are for sale. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/509283/kiwirail-considers-buying-second-hand-ships-for-cook-strait-ferry-service And from … Continue reading Scandal as NZ Government seeks to buy unavailable second-hand ferries and keep ‘very end-of-life’ wharf

9 Comments

Anger as New Zealand ministers told ferries needed ‘urgent attention’ BEFORE project axed

johnrobertson834

Yesterday, we heard that aging Australian ferries were being brought back into service to replace cheap Chinese-built ferries blowing up. Today, we hear: KiwiRail told ministers its ill-fated ferry project required “urgent attention”, just days before it got axed. The Interislander operator today released its briefing to the incoming ministers, which had been prepared at the end of November. Shortly after the report was written, the project to buy two new ferries and upgrade two ports was axed when the government refused to spend an extra $1.5 billion. In recent times, we’ve heard of cheap Vietnamese-built privately-owned ferries running aground on Orkney … Continue reading Anger as New Zealand ministers told ferries needed ‘urgent attention’ BEFORE project axed