| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 08/05/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 64 |
| Copyright: Other |
Fast ferries: by Jane Archer
Operators race to offer faster ferries
Market trend focuses on speed and capacity to bolster sales
P&O PORTSMOUTH’S decision to bring a bigger fast ferry onto the Portsmouth-Cherbourg route this summer underlines the trend in the market for ever-increasing capacity and faster speeds.The Portsmouth Express, launched last month, has capacity for 920 passengers and 225 cars.
It replaces the 800-passenger, 175-car SuperStar Express which operated the route for two summers.
Head of passenger marketing and sales Paul Barringer said the new ship was brought onto the route because P&O needed a fast ferry with a bigger car deck to meet demand for the service.
“We could never get close to reaching SuperStar’s maximum capacity because we always ran out of car deck space,” he added.
Barringer said the fast ferry has opened a new short break and day-trip market to Cherbourg for P&O Portsmouth – a sentiment echoed by most operators that have launched fast-ferry routes from the UK to France, Holland, Belgium and Ireland (see Factfile).
That success has driven demand for ever-larger fast craft, taking them in size from the 600-passenger Seacat first launched by Hoverspeed a decade ago to the 750-800-passenger catamarans now operated by companies including Condor Ferries and Irish Ferries and the 900-passenger Portsmouth Express.
The SuperSeaCat, a monohull developed by Hoverspeed parent Sea Containers, holds 700 passengers and 175 cars, while French ferry operator SNCM Ferryterranee is launching a new fast ferry between Nice and Corsica this month for 1,100 passengers and 250 cars. Stena Line’s three 1500 HSS ferries have capacity for 1,500 people and 375 vehicles.
Some ferry operators believe they will get bigger still. “The fast ferry still has some way to go in terms of development, and I think we will see them getting bigger,” said Barringer.
“Passengers like speed as a product and the more people we as an operator can get on to the fast ferry, the happier we are.”
Condor Ferries managing director Robert Provan added: “When we took delivery of Condor Express in 1997 it was the biggest craft of its kind, with capacity for 750 passengers.
“Two years on, there are already bigger fast ferries and I have no doubt they will get larger. And the bigger they get, the more robust they will become, making it possible to operate them in higher seas. It is an exciting time for fast ferries.”
At the moment, most fast ferries cannot leave harbour if the ‘significant’ wave height is above 3.5 metres. The downside for operators is that fast ferries are heavy on fuel and the bigger they get, the more fuel they burn.
Sea Containers senior vice-president passenger transport division, David Benson said: “Handy-sized fast ferries are a low-cost way of carrying passengers and cars. Capital costs are low, crewing costs are low, and the fuel consumption for the output is low.”
However, even operators that previously shied away from fast ferries – arguing in favour of the on-board experience on the roll-on, roll-off ships – are accepting that speed is a selling point and are now going for faster ferries. SeaFrance, for instance, has placed a £60m order for what it claims will be the fastest car ferry to sail from Dover to Calais. The ship will cut crossing time from 90mins to 60mins.
Brittany Ferries, which has placed an £80m order for a new 2,000-passenger ship for early 2002, was eyeing traditional ferries that operated 50% faster than conventional tonnage, but has been put off by a doubling of the price of fuel. Marketing and operations manager David Longden said: “We now believe that large conventional ferries are the way for the future.”
Quick trips: faster services are encouraging operators to promote new sales of short breaks and day trips
Portsmouth Express: the crossing to Cherbourg now takes 2hrs 40mins