Before the start of the season

Lake Constance fleet around MS Austria in new splendor

Before the start of the season, substantial investments were made in the refurbishment of the fleet of six ships. However, there are no concrete plans yet as to when and how the motor ships will be able to sail climate-neutrally.

Everything is ready for the start of the new season at the port of Bregenz. The owners of Vorarlberg Lines have invested almost one million euros in the fleet of six ships. Of the 970,000 euros in repair costs, 600,000 euros were spent on the 85-year-old MS Austria alone. "Among other things, the underwater hull was completely refurbished, making the ship seaworthy again for the next 15 to 20 years," reports Alexandro Rupp, Managing Director and owner of Vorarlberg Lines.

Like the MS Vorarlberg, the fleet's flagship, the MS Austria, will also be used for scheduled cruises. The three smaller motor vessels - the MS Bregenz, MS Alpenstadt Bludenz and the MS Montafon - are mainly used for own and charter traffic. The luxury steamer, the Sonnenkönigin, will cover the premium segment.

Climate-neutral cruises are still a dream of the future 
While the German Bodensee-Schifffahrtsbetriebe (BSB) has set itself the goal of operating all of its ships in a climate-neutral manner by 2035, Austria is not quite there yet. According to Rupp, climate fitness is a big issue, but the direction in which the motorization of the large passenger ships should go is still completely open. "Since we want to keep our old traditional ships in operation, e-fuels are a big issue for us. Electric drives are not possible in scheduled shipping. The use of hydrogen is not economically viable," explains Rupp.

In terms of the season last year, Vorarlberg Lines transported 401,606 passengers, slightly fewer than in 2022, but turnover rose from just under EUR 5.5 million to EUR 6.4 million. This was due to a 6.5 percent increase in ticket prices.

According to Rupp, the fact that passenger numbers could not be increased was mainly due to the weather. The days last July and August were either too cold or too hot. Incidentally, the ideal temperature for sailing is around 24 degrees.