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P&O Cruises and Cunard Line extend fleet standstills

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 30 March 2020 30 March 2020

P&O Cruises and Cunard Line, both parts of Carnival Corporation & plc group, have decided to extend pause of the operation of their fleets from 11 April to 15 May due to the coronavirus pandemic, the two companies said in separate statements.

P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said: “It is clear that our original date of April 11 to resume sailings, which would have been a 30 day pause in operations, is just not feasible in light of the government announcements last week.”

“Regrettably, therefore, we are now extending this pause until May 15. Given the current guidelines it is prudent and practical to extend the pause until normal operations can be resumed.

“As we work through the evolving restriction on ports around the world future itineraries may be subject to change and so we are looking at how we phase our ships back into service.”

Simon Palethorpe, President, Cunard said, “The impact of COVID-19 is affecting personal routines and businesses as well as placing significant travel restrictions around the world. Everyone in the Cunard team is aware of the need to support the management and containment of COVID-19 globally. This includes protecting the health and safety of our guests and crew. It is therefore right we extend the pause in operations.”

He added: “It is too soon to know exactly how this situation will evolve. But I do know that we, the Cunard team, will commit all our resources, energy and talent to weather this storm and come out stronger than ever for our guests. We have been sailing for 180 years and we look forward to many more. We will get through these tough times together and look forward to welcoming our guests back on board again soon, when the time is right.”

P&O Cruises extends its temporary suspension in operations in Australia and New Zealand

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 29 March 2020 29 March 2020

P&O Cruises announced this week it was extending its voluntary pause in operations across Australia and New Zealand as the cruise line plays its part in supporting the global effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The details around the temporary pause are different for guests in Australia and New Zealand to reflect the different approaches from each government in managing the resumption of international cruising.

President Sture Myrmell said our approach was about making it as simple as possible for guests in both Australia and New Zealand to have confidence in booking future cruises.

“We’re living in a period of rapid change with governments having to make decisions each day that are dramatically changing the way businesses and broader communities are going about their everyday lives,” Myrmell said.

“We took this step today out of respect for our guests and to give them some certainty at a time when so much is shifting around them," Myrmell said on Wednesday.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for our guests to make their future cruise plans by updating our approach to reflect what is happening at the moment.”

Myrmell also thanked our passionate guests for their encouraging emails and calls of support because it showed we would be back stronger than ever at the right time.

“We are living through an unprecedented period in world history, which is making it challenging for all of us in many different ways,” he said. “However, we will come through this stronger than ever alongside you, our valued guests.”

Viking Line postpones AGM and plans to suspend dividend

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 27 March 2020 27 March 2020

The board of Viking Line, the listed Finnish cruise ferry company, has decided to postpone this year’s AGM and to proposes to the meeting that no dividend be paid for 2019, the company said in a statement.

The date of the AGM would be decided later. Both the postponement of the meeting and the planned suspension of dividend payments result from the coronavirus outbreak.

The company has suspended its passenger business, but vessels continue to operate between Turku and Mariehamn in Finland and Stockholm in Sweden to carry cargo.

Viking Line had said before that the outbreak has significantly weakened the outlook for this year, but that it would not be possible to present any estimates at this point.

Viking Line has no connection to Viking, the privately owned deep sea and ocean cruise operator.

Fincantieri extends suspension of production activity

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 26 March 2020 26 March 2020

Despite having already implemented all the necessary measures to ensure the safety of its employees, Fincantieri has decided to further extend the work suspension in all its Military and Cruise Vessels production facilities and offices from March 30th until the date indicated in the decree of the President of the Council of Ministers adopted on March 22nd. This decision was made in consideration of the current COVID-19 situation, the need to continue contrasting the epidemiological phenomenon through stringent and incisive measures, and the dispositions set forth in the above-mentioned decree.

To this end, Fincantieri and representatives of the national Trade Unions FIM – FIOM – UILM signed an agreement to guarantee continuity in production at the end of the suspension.

In particular, the agreement sets forth that:

– the Company shall apply for Ordinary Redundancy Fund for “COVID-19 Emergency”, at zero hours, for all employees of all Company sites, as of March 30th and for the entire stoppage period envisaged by the decree as of today’s date;
– as an alternative to the Ordinary Redundancy Fund, employees may take accrued holidays/paid annual leave (PAL), with prior approval request;
– during the period of time covered by the Ordinary Redundancy Fund, all maintenance and safety activities and essential servicing of plants and facilities shall continue, as shall also all managerial and management activities that are strictly necessary to fulfil the Company’s current obligations and to carry out all activities that are preliminary to resuming production;
– the Company shall continue adopting smart work solutions where applicable, as determined by the specific work activities concerned and the availability of compatible IT equipment.

Moreover, given the need to extend the work suspension, the agreement redefines the type of economic compensation applied from March 16th to March 29th, 2020 (stoppage period). The agreement sets forth that instead of anticipating the regular two-week period of collective leave, employees will take holidays and/or PAL matured as of December 31st, 2019, and/or PAL hours matured in the year 2020, as envisaged in the current National Collective Labor Agreement.

Employees with insufficient remaining holidays or PAL hours to cover the stoppage period, may request individually that other relevant tools (holidays matured in 2020, hour bank, recovery leave, etc.) be applied to cover the 80 hours of the period concerned.

Lastly, in order to comply with the current product plan, the agreement sets forth that upon resuming the production activity, there will be no annual summer stoppage. Individual accrued holidays will be authorized as scheduled at every worksite after taking into consideration relevant technical and production needs.

Grandi Navi Veloci converts cruise ferry into floating hospital in Italy

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 25 March 2020 25 March 2020

Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV), part of MSC Group, has converted the ferry ship Splendid into a floating hospital equipped for the assistance of patients with COVID-19 and those recovering.

GNV started working on the project together with classification society RINA in early March, in close coordination with Italy’s Liguria Health System and Civil Protection. Together they defined a suitable solution that could be implemented in a very short period to increase Liguria's hospital capacity and, where necessary, to serve other areas of the country.

The project has a high level of flexibility and scalability and can be quickly adapted to meet future needs of the Liguria Region as the COVID-19 emergency evolves. Stationed at Ponte Colombo in Genoa’s Ferry Terminal, the current solution offers 25 beds in single cabins, although it is possible to equip additional cabins up to a total of 400 beds. The floating hospital also features a heliport and dedicated areas to healthcare personnel and crew, organized to guarantee suitable standards, comfort and flexibility.

RINA's contribution has been at core to the project, thanks to its expertise in the field of certifications and inspections in the maritime sector, which the company has provided free of charge. RINA verified that the new floating hospital complied with current regulations, identifying the correct balance between safety protection, naval regulations, the medical needs of a hospital indicated by ASL, the regional health care authority, and the urgent need to find a means of helping authorities and the National Health Service to address the fight against COVID-19.

This initiative has seen the immediate action of numerous partners, who made available products and services free of charge to equip the ship with all the necessary supplies, including HP-Aruba, Alpha Trading, Artigo Rubber Flooring, San Giorgio del Porto, Auscomar, ItalBrokers, Le Navi Maritime Agency, Burger King, Covim, Emis, Giunti Editore, IdealService, Infomaster, Mantero Sistemi, Provveditoria Marittima Ligure Angelo Novelli and Ansaldo Naval Technical Studio.