Gareth Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 35 minutes ago, David Williams said: So the only question left is Le Havre and what ship, if any, we see on it. Assuming that NEX has gone maybe they will continue the Le Havre, Cherbourg split route which would be ok for the Cotentin Looks to me like Le Havre, NEX and Connemara (as well as Kerry) are all gone. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Gareth Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 The only question now is Poole-Bilbao, and whether we will see Cotentin taking over there. (Am I right in understanding that the charter of Pelican is due to expire?). Link to post Share on other sites
The Ferry Man Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 2 minutes ago, Gareth said: Looks to me like Le Havre, NEX and Connemara (as well as Kerry) are all gone. Shame. I liked Le Havre and NEx was good for a daytrip to Cherbourg. Link to post Share on other sites
Gareth Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Just now, The Ferry Man said: Shame. I liked Le Havre and NEx was good for a daytrip to Cherbourg. Wonder whether we might see an expanded fast-ferry service from Condor, possibly involving Cherbourg, with NEX added to the fleet? 2 Link to post Share on other sites
The Ferry Man Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Interesting thought! Link to post Share on other sites
David Williams Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 One of the BF missives did say that no routes would be cut, 1 Link to post Share on other sites
georgem7 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 3 hours ago, Gareth said: Well, they’re out. And this was broadly right Well done Gareth. I mean your suggestion had more footing anyway. But it is important to note that when Salamanca arrives, these timings will change again. I like how next year the Spanish timetable has one ship dedicated to one route, it is definitely tidier! And there is a daily sailing (in the sense that there is an arrival/departure into/from Spain on every day of the week). If the Le Havre service has been dispensed with, it hints that Cap Finistere may be replacing Etretat at Rosslare when Salamanca arrives. Santona's role is more unknown, unless her purpose is to add further sailings between Portsmouth and Spain. Pont-Aven's timings have been slowed down slightly during the summer, and it is interesting that she'll be doing Galicia's exact timings over the winter. Probably good for fuel economy. But also of course could be that Galicia could enter service earlier and Pont-Aven is merely a placeholder Finally, Rosslare-Cherbourg is interesting, BF are certainly playing musical chairs a little bit. Let's hope this stays and is successful. I mean if Cap Finistere transferred across in a couple of years, it would be a more attractive option than Stena Horizon! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
nick hall Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Rosslare - Cherbourg looks interesting, my concern would be that only one sailing per week will not be attractive to hauliers. Link to post Share on other sites
David Williams Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 3 minutes ago, nick hall said: Rosslare - Cherbourg looks interesting, my concern would be that only one sailing per week will not be attractive to hauliers. It will allow them to dip their toe in that water and they need a French port for crew change anyway Link to post Share on other sites
Gareth Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 16 minutes ago, georgem7 said: when Salamanca arrives, these timings will change again. Indeed. I've been pondering that one. Now we know that the 28 hour figure we've been using as the estimated passage time is in the right ballpark, we have something to work with. The conundrum in replacing CF with Salamanca is the possible reduction in sailings from Portsmouth from 5 to 4 sailings to Spain per week, which is what would happen if Salamanca had the same pattern of operation as Galicia will have in 2021. However, one possibility could be that they ditch the Portsmouth-Cherbourg rotation and tried to get 2.5 rotations per week out of each ship (thus preserving 5 weekly rotations in total). This would introduce a novel concept into BF thinking though (the notion of ships swapping schedules each week) and I'm not sure how that would work with weekly crew changes. (I presume crew changes would still happen at a weekly stopover in Cherbourg on a 2-night voyage). Anyway, we've got a whole year to ponder that one! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Grego Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Did I get the impression Galicia is a new ship? If not why is it doing the Spain route bearing in mind the sailing duration is 30+ hours now rather than the 24 hours on CF? Link to post Share on other sites
David Williams Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 2 minutes ago, Grego said: Did I get the impression Galicia is a new ship? If not why is it doing the Spain route bearing in mind the sailing duration is 30+ hours now rather than the 24 hours on CF? Yes & because it is cheaper to go slower - they also have longer to sell you things ! Link to post Share on other sites
David Williams Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 I can't see Stena Baltica in the timetables after mid December, there may be a joint BF / Stena announcement pending re the Cotentin. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
AmigoCirculo Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 I am sure I once read that maritime safety regulations require voyages of longer than 24 hours to have an evacuation drill. If this is so, it would have an interesting effect on Galicia's 30 hour or so crossing. Doubtless some experienced seafarer would know if this is indeed the case Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 1 minute ago, AmigoCirculo said: I am sure I once read that maritime safety regulations require voyages of longer than 24 hours to have an evacuation drill. If this is so, it would have an interesting effect on Galicia's 30 hour or so crossing. Doubtless some experienced seafarer would know if this is indeed the case Don't recall this happening on the Pride of Bilbao's sailings, or indeed on Bretagne's Portsmouth <> Santander sailings 1 Link to post Share on other sites
AmigoCirculo Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Come to think of it, neither do I on the routes Jim mentioned. Perhaps it only applies to cruise ships. Link to post Share on other sites
The Ferry Man Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Has it changed since the Costa incident though? Link to post Share on other sites
jonno Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 The timetables... @Gareth you're spooky mate, well done! For me it's a shame about Le Havre, the port offered a realistic alternative to Ouistreham. With the PNA controlling three of the four Normandy ports, SOMANOR etc etc... I wonder, more to come for us to mull over there I suspect. The switching of the Rosslare sailing to Cherbourg makes sense when tied in with the rail link although I'm surprised that Connemara doesn't feature considering her charter is/was for a fixed period and Etretat's is on a rolling 6 month basis... maybe that's her attraction? Is this switch paving the way for Santona in 2023 to serve Rosslare, Cherbourg & Bilbao? Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 We had a safety briefing on our Poole to Gijon crossing a few years back. We sat in the bar watching a crew member put on a life vest while the evacuation procedure was explained over the tannoy. Bit like the airline safety briefing on a plane. Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 2 minutes ago, The Ferry Man said: Has it changed since the Costa incident though? For cruise ships the requirement was a muster drill within 24 hours of boarding, whereas it's now immediately before or after sailing. http://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/Pages/45-SOLAS-eif-.aspx#.XxgcWfhKi-p 1 Link to post Share on other sites
jonno Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 28 minutes ago, David Williams said: I can't see Stena Baltica in the timetables after mid December, there may be a joint BF / Stena announcement pending re the Cotentin. She's returning, having a rebuild and replacing Barfleur. Word is that Stena are replacing her slot with a Turkish lengthened Lagan or Mersey. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
The Ferry Man Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Is BF paying for the conversion? Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 16 minutes ago, The Ferry Man said: Is BF paying for the conversion? If what jonno says is true, then I'm not sure why anyone else would! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
The Ferry Man Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 2 minutes ago, Jim said: If what jonno says is true, then I'm not sure why anyone else would! It does seem a very Stena thing to do though... Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Just now, The Ferry Man said: It does seem a very Stena thing to do though... True. Purely hypothetically Stena could buy the vessel, make the amendments and lease her back to BF. Might help BF's cashflow? 2 Link to post Share on other sites
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