DFDS Orders One More RoRo at Jinling Shipyard

Danish shipping and logistics company DFDS has decided to order an additional RoRo newbuilding from Chinese Jinling Shipyard, exercising an option obtained when ordering its previous ferries.

The new ferries will be deployed in route networks in northern Europe and the Mediterranean.

As informed, the newbuilding is similar to the five previously ordered freight ferries and likewise designed to carry 6,700 lane meters of freight equivalent to around 450 trailers. The large capacity decreases unit costs as well as the environmental impact per transported unit, according to the company.

DFDS said that the first two ships are expected to be received at the beginning of the next year, the third and fourth in the second half of 2019 and the last two in the first half of 2020.

DFDS’ fleet extension and renewal program also includes two combined freight and passenger ferries (RoPax) to be delivered in 2021 for deployment in the Baltic route network. In addition, two RoRo ferries are being lengthened to increase capacity, and a chartered RoPax will be delivered in 2021 for deployment on the English Channel routes.

Separately, DFDS reported that its revenue increased 6% to DKK 3.9bn (USD 595.6 million) in Q2 2018. As explained, the revenue was driven by the expansion of the route network in the Mediterranean as well as continued growth in the freight activities in northern Europe. These were also the key drivers of the increase in EBITDA before special items by 9% to DKK 802m.

The growth of freight ferry volumes was in line with expectations in both northern Europe and the Mediterranean with the overall growth of 6% in Q2, the company said.

In June, the acquisition of Turkish company U.N. Ro-Ro was completed. Following the completion of the acquisition, DFDS has 98.8% of ownership of the Istanbul-based company.

“We are pleased to deliver a solid result for Q2. Despite the current situation in Turkey, we are progressing well with the integration of the new ferry operation between Europe and Turkey and on track for completion this year. We continue to monitor other opportunities to grow and create value,” Niels Smedegaard, CEO of DFDS, commented.