There is once again a new book out with a contribution from me: the 2019 edition of Ferry Publications' now-annual Ferries. And like with the entry on last year's Ferries, I have to start by apologising for the somewhat belated entry on this. We recently moved to a new apartment, and trying to find the time to do everything that needs doing normally plus slowly but surely putting everything in its right place in the new apartment is taking surprisingly long.
For those who are not familar with the series, Ferries 2019 is a database of all Northern European car/passenger ferries in international service, plus all ferries sailing in intra-British or Irish services, and roro cargo ferries sailing to/from Great Britain and Ireland. In addition to the extremely useful database, there are four articles in this year's edition: "A Short History of Polferries" and "Unity Line – A Baltic Success Story", both by Matthew Punter, "DFDS in 2018 – Masters of the European Seas" by Kai Ortel, and my own offering "Viking Line Today and Tomorrow."
As the name suggests, my "Viking Line Today and Tomorrow" is an overview of Viking Line's operations as they are today, plus a look into the newbuilding currently under construction in China and some thoughts on how the new ship is likely to effect the company's future. With the international readers in mind, I have tried my best to explain the different business models of the different services, and the varying products offered.
Matthew Punter's twin articles on Polferries and Unity Line are both wonderful explanations of the histories of these two big Polish, state-owned ferry companies. Not that much has been written in English on either company, so I think Matthew's articles here are highly welcome.
Finally, Kai Ortel's "DFDS in 2018 – Masters of the European Seas" recaps the eventful years 2017 and 2018 for DFDS. Also handily precursoring Kai's upcoming DFDS – Linking Europe, due for publication later this year.
Ferries 2019 is available in well-stocked booksellers. If you happen to live somewhere (like Finland) where no such sellers exist, my prime recommendation is order the book directly from the publishers.
Excellent.
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