DFDS, the Copenhagen based listed ferry and logistics group, said it has entered into an agreement with the Italian ferry company Moby Line to acquire two combined freight and passenger ferries of about 36,000 gross tons each for its overnight service between Newcastle in the UK and IJmuiden outside Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
The ships, currently known as Moby Wonder and Moby Aki, are built in 2001 and 2005, respectively and they will replace two existing cruise ferries on the route that were built in the mid-1980s. Many people use the service as a mini cruise, with a day at the destination port before an overnight crossing back.
As part of the agreement, Moby Line will in turn acquire the two passenger ferries currently operating on Amsterdam-Newcastle, King Seaways and Princess Seaways, built in 1987 and 1986, respectively.
“The new ferries are ideally suited for our Amsterdam-Newcastle route. Their modern onboard facilities and higher car-deck capacity will allow us to grow revenue by fulfilling the growing demand from high-yield car passengers. To freight customers, we will be able to offer increased capacity that can remain constant throughout the year”, said Peder Gellert Pedersen, EVP and Head of DFDS’ Ferry Division, in a statement.
The agreement is expected to be completed in the second half of October 2019. DFDS will subsequently bareboat-charter King Seaways and Princess Seaways from Moby until January and February 2020, respectively.
The acquired ferries from Moby will be refurbished to suit the Amsterdam-Newcastle route. This includes commercial and technical investments on board as well as port investments. The refurbished ferries are expected to be deployed on Amsterdam-Newcastle during the first quarter of 2020.
The freight capacity will increase around 40% on a full-year basis. The car capacity will increase around 5% on a full-year basis supported by a cabin configuration that is well suited to the requirements of holiday-makers travelling by car.
In 2018, Amsterdam-Newcastle carried more than 600,000 passengers, 122,000 passenger vehicles and 350,000 lane metres of freight. The capacity increase will provide an opportunity to accommodate further growth in trade and travel, including a large tourism flow, between UK and Continental Europe.
