News

IMO to incorporate cruise industry's recommendations to safety treaty

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 05 December 2012 05 December 2012

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the European Cruise Council (ECC) say they are pleased with the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) decision to approve incorporation of the cruise industry’s recommendation for the mandatory muster of passengers prior to departure from port in the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). This anticipated regulatory change would be incorporated in SOLAS, which provides comprehensive mandates on safety equipment and procedures for ships. The global cruise industry announced this measure with immediate effect on 9 February 2012, as part of the global cruise industry Operational Safety Review that was launched in January.

Additionally, the IMO’s maritime safety committee (MSC) incorporated three other policies from the global cruise industry Operational Safety Review during its meetings in London, held between 26 and 30 November. The three policies address the loading of lifeboats by crewmembers for training purposes, the recording of passenger nationality, and the common elements of musters and emergency instructions. They are now included in IMO guidance specific to passenger ship safety and have been implemented via industry-wide policies.

Christine Duffy, president and CEO of CLIA, said: “The global cruise industry appreciates and shares the unyielding commitment of the IMO, its secretary-general, the maritime safety committee and the 170 IMO member states around the world to continuously enhance the safety of passengers and crew — our industry’s number one priority. Ongoing innovation in safety has been a hallmark of the cruise industry for decades. We remain fully committed as an industry to building on our rich heritage of leadership in improvement of shipboard operations and safety.”

Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio, ECC chairman, said: “We welcome the decision by the IMO to incorporate key recommendations from the global cruise industry Operational Safety Review into the SOLAS. The IMO’s decision to incorporate our recommendations into SOLAS, including our February 2012 decision to introduce on a voluntary basis the mandatory muster of passengers prior to departure from port, is an endorsement of the cruise industry’s approach to continuous safety improvement. It demonstrates how we as an industry are proactively achieving concrete, practical and significant safety dividends in the shortest possible time. We look forward to continuing to work with the IMO to secure further safety improvements in the future wherever there is scope to do so.”

Fincantieri and Viking sign an agreement for the construction of two more cruise ships

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 04 December 2012 04 December 2012

Viking Ocean Cruises, sister company of Viking River Cruises, the world’s leading river cruise line, and Fincantieri, world leader in cruise shipbuilding, today announced the signature of a Memorandum of Agreement for the construction of two more ocean cruise ships with an option for another two.

The new ships will be twins to those ordered earlier this year. In line with Viking’s intimate, destination-focused approach to cruising, the ships will be small by today’s standards at approximately 48,000 gross register tonnage (GRT). The related ship contracts will be completed subject to the customary closing conditions.

The Agreement, which strengthens the preferred relationship between the two companies, also includes a series of joint initiatives to the study of liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion.

Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking, commented on the announcement: “This additional order indicates just how strong early response has been to our ocean cruise concept which focuses on small ship destination cruising at a great value. We are very excited to have Fincantieri as a partner as we work to bring the destination back to ocean cruising.”

Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, said: "We are very pleased to intensify our collaboration with Viking and this new agreement demonstrates our ability to compete in the market. We have done our part and we hope that the institutions responsible for supporting exports will continue to sustain those in this strategic industry for the national economy." Bono concluded: "We also hope that the unions and workers feel confident about the future by giving their utmost commitment to making our company ever more competitive. Without this determination, the excellent results achieved this year, namely acquisition of basically all the new prototype cruise ships projects in 2012, will be hard to maintain."

Strong demand prompts P&O Cruises to add Northern Lights to 2013 programme

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 03 December 2012 03 December 2012

P&O Cruises, which is part of the Carnival Corp & plc group, says it has added a 12 night Northern Lights cruise in its 2013 programme due to strong demand. The 69,153 gross ton Oriana will sail on this cruise on 1 March, the company said in a statement.

Previously, P&O Cruises had planned to introduce Northern Lights, which take Oriana up to Alta inside the Arctic Circle in Norway, to its programme in the winter of 2014.

“Due to unprecedented interest in the North Cape cruise in March, P&O Cruises has added another 12-night cruise, also to see the famed Northern Lights. The cruise offers a unique opportunity to see the natural phenomenon with an extended afternoon and evening stay in Alta, also known as the town of the Northern Lights, “ P&O Cruises said.

Winter cruises to the North Cape have become a high yield product with strong demand, Wendy Jeffreys, spokesperson for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, told Cruise Business. The company has operated cruises to Northern Norway in the winter for several years and will be doing so in the coming winter as well.

Other companies that will operate Northern Lights cruises from the UK in the coming winter include Saga Cruises that pioneered the product about five years ago and Cruise & Maritime Voyages, which is using two ships on these cruises. The 22,080 gross ton Marco Polo will sail from London Tilbury, while the 20,186 gross ton Discovery that is operated in a joint venture with Voyages of Discovery, will sail from Bristol Avonmouth.

A look at prices of Northern Lights cruises offered by various lines shows that they are not heavily discounted, unlike many other cruises on the UK market at the moment.