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Spanish ferry line Trasmediterranea posted a decrease in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the first six months (H1) of 2017, with the increase in bunker costs cited as one of two key factors that led to the decline - together with the higher number of routes compared to 2016.

Year-on-year (YoY), the operator's EBITDA fell EUR 11 million, or 88.7 percent, to EUR 2 million in H1.

Trasmediterranea's H1 revenue, meanwhile, dropped 2.2 percent YoY to EUR 190 million.

As Bunker Index previously reported, Trasmediterranea launched a new high-speed service connecting the Spanish mainland to Ibiza in H1 - on April 12.

Speaking at the time, Trasmediterranea's general manager, Mario Quero, said that the problem with high speed was that the business model "is very exposed to fuel volatility".

"High speed makes sense when distances are short and justified, and when the fuel price is at moderate levels," Quero remarked, adding that high-speed ferries for longer distances "would not make much sense".

The ferry line has been keen to limit its fuel risk exposure following past experiences. Referring to what happened to the company back in 2007 and 2008 during a period that saw Brent rise to record levels, Quero said that an increase in the price of bunker fuel led to "a rupture in the financial balance of the project".

"We have to refer to models where exposure to fuel volatility produces the least possible impact," Quero said in April.