DFDS has entered into an agreement with Italian ferry company Moby to exchange two passenger ferries.
This move is intended to raise the on board customer experience and capacity, for both passengers and freight customers.
Moby will acquire the two passenger ferries currently operating on the Newcastle/Amsterdam route — ‘King Seaways’ and ‘Princess Seaways’, built in 1987 and 1986, respectively.
At the same time, DFDS will acquire the two passenger ferries ‘Moby Wonder’ and ‘Moby Aki’, built in 2001 and 2005, respectively. The ships will be renamed when they join the fleet.
The ferries are expected to be delivered in the second half of October, 2019 and will undergo significant refurbishment, including commercial and technical investments on board, as well as port investments.
DFDS will subsequently bareboat-charter ‘King Seaways’ and ‘Princess Seaways’ until January and February, 2020.
Kasper Moos, DFDS Vice President & Head of BU Short Routes & Passengers, said: “The new ferries are ideally suited to our Newcastle to Amsterdam route. They will provide our passengers with modern on board facilities and with more car-deck capacity, the new tonnage will allow DFDS to increase passenger revenue by fulfilling the growing demand for high yield car passengers. To freight customers, we will be able to offer increased capacity that can remain constant throughout the entire year.”
DFDS also said that its freight capacity is expected to increase around 40% on a full-year basis and car capacity increase around 5% on a full-year basis.
