Finally something new and surprising happens again !
FRS has got 168 Mio. (DFDS announce) for a nearly worthless ferry-fleet, including much too much 750 crew/staff ?
Well done FRS, this is a "must do it" deal ! Shows the high worth of the route-licences also !
I would tax the complete FRS-Iberia fleet at ca. 50-60 Mio. only.
((Some Cats as f.ex. the Kvaerner Fjellstrands since years laid up, for sale for cheapest prices, down to 3, 4, 5 Mio. per ship - but nobody was interested, they have 1 mid-size- Cat from 2015 - but all other ships will be in circa 2, 3 years 30 years old, and 30 years old Cats are unsaleable normally also))
Then in 2024 FRS has (speculated) CIRCA 200 Mio. at the banks and could buy new big Catamarans for their other routes, i hope on Rostock-Trelleborg, for ca. 200 Mio. they would get 2 new biggest Cats from Austal or Incat.
But i think it is a good step for DFDS also, this short-sea-corridor will rising up more and more with Pax and freight.
Now they can order new big electric double-enders for Dover - and move the actually Dover ferries to Gibraltar.
With the 2 small FRS Ropax ((or the old Cats)) they could theoretic open Ramsgate-Vlissingen (or Ostende, city of Ramsgate want urgent a ferry-route, but the port is too small for most other ferries).
The old chartered freighter can leave the fleet.
The FRS Catamarans can be sold, i am really for Catamarans - but i think that Gibraltar is a too short route for them for to play out really the speed-advantage. The FRS Cats are also too small for the extremly rising number of big motorhomes on this routes, just for compare, ca. 150 cars only - the new Fjordline-Cat takes more than 400. So here i am awaiting that DFDS will change from the Cats to the actually Dover-ferries (without the E-Flexer) if they have got new-buildings for Dover.
Generally sad that in the Gibraltar-street licences are needed and the ferry-market is not free and open. It is - together with Puttgarden-Rödby, Helsinki-Tallin and Dover-Calais - one of the 4 biggest ferry-corridors.
www.frs.world
