Tag: cruise ships

Shipbuilder Meyer Turku informed that Costa Smeralda was floated out with traditional ceremonies at the Meyer Turku shipyard, on March 15. The float-out of Costa Smeralda, an LNG fueled 180 000 GT cruise ship, signals the start of the final stage of construction for the ship. The ceremony marks the outfitting phase in the ship’s construction. The ship will be ready for delivery for Costa Cruises in October 2019.

Representatives from Russian regions suggested preparing a single list of ports and points of call for foreign cruise ships in the territory of the Far East. This is aimed to mitigate administrative barriers in cruise navigation in the Far East region.

The Port of Seattle Commission issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to secure a partner to develop and operate a new, single berth cruise facility at Terminal 46. Commissioners also adopted principles to ensure that a growing cruise business increases local economic benefit.

This video published by the Royal Caribbean, depicts the installation of the ship's massive propellers for its azipod propulsion system. Designed especially for the Chinese market, Spectrum of the Seas will be the largest and most expensive ship in Asia when it sails from Shanghai, China starting in June 2019. Spectrum of the Seas is nearing completion, as it was floated out of the dry dock on February 25, 2019.

The cruise industry supports over 12,500 jobs in the Baltic Sea region, according to a new Economic Impact Study by GP Wild. The region has been recently seeing a surge of cruise passengers, which is showing on the positive economic impact in the region.

The Princess cruises ship 'Regal Princess' rescued two people from the water, after their private aircraft went down in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Grand Turk.  The cruise ship was en route from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, when she received a notification by USCG.

A proposal to hit cruise lines with a new tax will add an unfair burden to the industry and drive up costs for both operators and passengers, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia warned. The Association refers to Australia's Biosecurity Imports Levy, to be implemented by July 2019. 

Over 2.2 million passengers are expected in the Port of Kiel this year, forecasting record numbers like 600,000 cruise passengers and 1.6 million ferry travellers. In 2018, Kiel was visited on 169 separate occasions, by 34 different cruise ships with a total gross tonnage of more than 11.5 million. This is an increase of 15.3% over the previous year. 

The cruise ship Norwegian Escape experienced strong wind gust during its voyage on March 3, which resulted to a cosmetic damage in the interior of the vessel, whereas several passenger injuries. Just before midnight the cruise ship experienced unexpected weather phenomena, in the form of sudden, extreme gust of wind, estimated at 100 knots. The weather resulted to the ship heeling to the port side.

The Port Authority of Ferrol-San Cibrao (APFSC) agreed with seven shipping companies to receive 17 cruise stops in the dock of Curuxeiras during 2019. Thus, it is discussing with other companies in the sector for several additional berths so that at the end of the year, this number is increased to reach around twenty passenger ships received.