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Displaying items by tag: EcoScheme

The Spanish Government which recently announced an Eco Incentive Scheme implemented on Brittany Ferries Bilbao-Rosslare Europort route, is also to see a new cruiseferry introduced on the service next month, writes Jehan Ashmore.

According to the ferry operator, the Eco Incentive scheme will continue until 31st March 2023 and it may be prolonged for a further two years after this date. The scheme's purpose is to promote maritime freight transport based on environmental merit.

Brittany Ferries is pleased to confirm that this scheme will apply to their Spain-Ireland route which opened in 2020 with two departures per week.

Eligible companies will be able to reclaim €6.80 per eligible unit shipped in either direction, directly from the Spanish Government.

To take advantage of the scheme, companies will need to register via this link (in Spanish & English) which also contains further information on the scheme.

In April, Brittany Ferries announced the Spain-Ireland link in November is to be boosted with introduction of the E-flexer class Galicia, a more tourism-oriented ferry on the overnight service which can take 1,015 passengers accommodated in 431 cabins. 

Since the announcement, Afloat.ie adds that another E-Flexer cruise ferry is to enter service before the 2020 built Galicia, with this year's introduced Salamanca, the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) ferry to operate in UK waters. 

In February, the 'greener' fuel powered cruiseferry arrived to Ireland to carry out a berthing trial in Rosslare (see photo above). The Wexford port will see the larger newbuilds call, with each providing a boost in capacity with space for 300 cars and for freight totalling 139 trucks.

The smaller 'no-frills' ropax Connemara on the Ireland-Iberian link is to make a final sailing at the end of this month. Following this, Salamanca is to enter service first, instead of Galicia. This is to take place in less than a month's time on the route which has an average crossing time of 26 hours.

Salamanca, however will only operate during the winter months as Afloat consulted the sailing schedule which sees Galicia taking over in late March, 2023. This debut will be in readiness to operating the shoulder season in advance of next summer.

Published in Brittany Ferries

About Brittany Ferries

In 1967 a farmer from Finistère in Brittany, Alexis Gourvennec, succeeded in bringing together a variety of organisations from the region to embark on an ambitious project: the aim was to open up the region, to improve its infrastructure and to enrich its people by turning to traditional partners such as Ireland and the UK. In 1972 BAI (Brittany-England-Ireland) was born.

The first cross-Channel link was inaugurated in January 1973, when a converted Israeli tank-carrier called Kerisnel left the port of Roscoff for Plymouth carrying trucks loaded with Breton vegetables such as cauliflowers and artichokes. The story, therefore, begins on 2 January 1973, 24 hours after Great Britain's entry into the Common Market (EEC).

From these humble beginnings however, Brittany Ferries as the company was re-named quickly opened up to passenger transport, then became a tour operator.

Today, Brittany Ferries has established itself as the national leader in French maritime transport: an atypical leader, under private ownership, still owned by a Breton agricultural cooperative.

Eighty five percent of the company’s passengers are British.

Key Brittany Ferries figures:

  • Turnover: €202.4 million (compared with €469m in 2019)
  • Investment in three new ships, Galicia plus two new vessels powered by cleaner LNG (liquefied natural gas) arriving in 2022 and 2023
  • Employment: 2,474 seafarers and shore staff (average high/low season)
  • Passengers: 752,102 in 2020 (compared with 2,498,354 in 2019)
  • Freight: 160,377 in 2020 (compared with 201,554 in 2019)
  • Twelve ships operating services that connect France, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain (non-Covid year) across 14 routes
  • Twelve ports in total: Bilbao, Santander, Portsmouth, Poole, Plymouth, Cork, Rosslare, Caen, Cherbourg, Le Havre, Saint-Malo, Roscoff
  • Tourism in Europe: 231,000 unique visitors, staying 2.6 million bed-nights in France in 2020 (compared with 857,000 unique visitors, staying 8,7 million bed-nights in 2019).