Tag: cruise ships

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.

On 1 March, new environmental requirements for emissions and discharges in the world heritage fjords the Nærøyfjord, Aurlandsfjord, Geirangerfjord, Sunnylvsfjord and Tafjord entered into force. Norway aspires to reduce the emissions and discharges from cruise ships and other vessels. Another vital goal of the regulations is to reduce health risks for area residents.

Spectrum of the Seas is nearing completion, as it was floated out of the dry dock on February 25, 2019, to start the next phase of construction at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. Spectrum will be delivered in April 2019, and will be operating in the Chinese market. Two tugboats, with 9,000 horsepower each, pulled the ship out of the dry dock.

KfW IPEX-Bank announced that it will finance another cruise ship for AIDA Cruises that is powered with LNG. The ship would be the second sister vessel for AIDAnova, the world's first LNG-powered cruise ship. KfW IPEX-Bank will also finance the third LNG-powered ship for the German AIDA Cruises. The ship is scheduled to be delivered in 2023.

Costa Smeralda's construction is continuing at the Meyer shipyard in Turku, Finland. The cruise ship belongs to Costa Cruise's fleet and it's the the first cruise ship for the world market, specifically in Europe, to be fuelled, both in port and while at sea, by liquefied natural gas (LNG).

UNESCO has declared the Geiranger and Nærøy fjords on Norway’s west coast as World Heritage Sites in 2005. This aims to protect the natural heritage in the fjord environment. In order to help ensure the protection of the fjords, Norway is reviewing a law to reduce emissions and discharges in the area. This will be achieved through stricter regulations to ensure a better environmental footprint.

The Green Cruise Port - Sustainable Development of Cruise Port Locations Project is completed, in line with the action plan and recommendations for the Baltic Sea cruise ports. Freeport of Riga was able to study the most crucial parts of the cruise development, exchange information and gain experience from the Baltic Sea cruise ports.

The Norwegian Epic cruise vessel sustained power loss during its current cruise to the Caribbean on February 12, requiring the NCL cruise ship to divert to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The cruise vessel was planned to voyage to Tortola, British Virgin Islands, and later on sail to St Thomas, US Virgin Islands and Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas on February 15th before returning to Port Canaveral on February 16th.