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Holland America Bids Farewell to ms Westerdam

Holland America Line will bid a fond farewell to the ms Westerdam on March 10 as the ship leaves its fleet after 643 voyages during a career spanning more than 13 years with the company. "The departure of a ship from our fleet is always a poignant occasion. The Westerdam is a wonderful cruise ship. She has provided more than a million guests with many happy memories and it is bitterwseet to bid her farewell," said A. Kirk Lanterman, Holland America Line chairman and CEO. "We wish her a long and joyous service with our sister company, Costa Cruciere, as we look forward to welcoming the next generation of Holland America Line ships beginning this fall." The Westerdam, with 1,347 guests on board, departed from Ft. Lauderdale March 2 on its final cruise under the Holland America Line flag -- an eight-day Eastern Caribbean cruise visiting Nassau, Bahamas, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and HAL's own private island paradise, Half Moon Cay, Bahamas. The Westerdam has been a favorite with families and long-time Holland America alumni, since joining the HAL fleet. The ship, which began service as the former Home Lines' Homeric in 1986, was named the Westerdam and officially entered service with Holland America Line on Nov. 12, 1988. The Westerdam's arrival expanded the fleet to four ships and signaled the beginning of a new era of growth for Holland America that continues today

HAL Ships Celebrate Historic Meeting

The meeting in Dubrovnik of the ms Amsterdam and the ms Prinsendam marked the first time in Holland America Line's 134-year history that two ships on simultaneous Grand Voyages met at a port of call. When Holland America Line's flagship the ms Amsterdam and the Elegant Explorer ms Prinsendam met today in Dubrovnik, Croatia, the combined 2,000 guests were treated to a special event commemorating the first time in the company's 134-year history that two ships on simultaneous Grand

BC Ferries Fights Transsexual’s Claims

Once, he was John Marshall Magnone, a West Coast mariner who worked for the ferry division of a British Columbia government ministry. Then John became Deborah and got a job as a deckhand for BC Ferries. Now she claims her gender switch cost her a job with the province's main ferry company, according to a report on the Globeandmail.com. Ms. Magnone claims she was fired last year because she is a transsexual. She has filed a complaint with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal

Oversight Hearing on TWIC Implementation

The House Committee on Homeland Security conducted an oversight hearing on the Implementation of the TWIC Program. In his prepared remarks, Committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) expressed his concern that the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program is far behind schedule and that the estimates of the number of workers affected are much understated. Testimony was for the record, as the hearing was interrupted by a floor vote

U.S. Lines' M.S. Patriot Is Christened In Hawaii

United States Lines' premiere vessel, the 1,212-passenger MS Patriot arrived on Thursday at its homeport of Honululu, Oahu as the newest and largest cruise vessel serving the Hawaiian Islands year-round. The vessel, which breaks a 40-year stagnation within the U.S. cruise ship industry, is scheduled to be christened today by Maggie Inouye, wife of Senator Daniel Inouye, who will perform the official dedication. Formerly known as Holland America's MS Nieuw Amsterdam

StatoilHydro - New Exploration Licenses

StatoilHydro was offered interests in seven production licenses on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) in the Awards of Predefined Areas 2008 (APA 2008). The company will be operator of four of the licenses. “We are pleased with the award, which gives us important new exploration acreage close to the existing infrastructure we are operating on the NCS, ” says Tove Stuhr Sjøblom, senior vice president for explorations on the NCS.

MS&D 2009 Hamburg

The latest surveillance, defence and security equipment is presented by the 60 exhibitors at MS&D 2009, the international conference and exhibition on Maritime Security & Defence (MS&D), to be held at the Hamburg Fair site from 30 September to 2 October 2009. The exhibits include sophisticated optical and acoustic sensors, which have substantially improved the automated monitoring and control technology of security and defence equipment and systems

First Cruise Ship Of The Season Arrives At Aberdeen Harbour

Aberdeen Harbour will welcome ten cruise calls this summer, with four vessels making their first ever visit to the port. The arrival of Noble Caledonia’s MS Quest, a small expedition liner carrying up to 50 passengers, heralded the start of the cruise season on Friday (May 6). A unique small vessel weighing in at 1268 tonnes, she spent the day in Aberdeen before leaving to explore the Copinsay Islands off Orkney, Isle of Lewis, St Kilda and Oban amongst other destinations.

Keppel AmFELS Delivers Rowan Rig Ahead of Schedule

Keppel AmFELS LLC, a wholly owned US subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), has completed the delivery of its fourth EXL jack-up rig to a subsidiary of Rowan Companies, Inc. (Rowan) (NYSE: RDC) with a perfect safety record, four months ahead of schedule and within budget. The jack-up rig was christened Rowan EXL-IV yesterday by Ms. Mary J. Dunaway and Ms. Audra M. Williamson, daughters of Mr. Johnnie Huckabay, one of Rowan's senior rig managers

Cruise Ships Smarten Up in Bremerhaven

Three big cruise ships visit Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven AG in the coming days and weeks to be spruced up for the 2013 cruise season. The ships are the MS "Braemar" and the MS "Balmoral", belonging to new customer Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, and Saga Shipping Corporation’s MS "Saga Ruby", better known previously to the yard as Cunard’s "Caronia". In the meantime Cunard’s 294 m long, 90