Flying High News

Once queen of the express liners, and the fastest, safest and biggest passenger liner in history, the SS United States today quietly awaits rescue from a pending cruise to the scrapyard. The Big Ship the Big U, the one that didn’t sink. The S.S. She is waiting for a rescue that may never come from an appointment with the scrap yard looming large on her summer schedule. And that would be a shame according to her many supporters, not the least of which was the late newsman and sailor, Walter Cronkite.

The fight in the maritime satcom sector is somewhat analogous to the one fought by Apple and Microsoft in the early ‘80s: two tech companies, polar-opposite philosophies and a raging battle for market share. Market watchers  likely have noted an increased “competitive spirit” among providers of ship-to-shore communication services. •    the need to keep crew content with         Email, Internet & entertainment. A corporate driver for change has been Iridium, the McLean, VA-based…

Jamaica's flag is flying high in China with the launch of two new container ships that will operate in the Chinese coastal trade. Jamaican ambassador to China, His Excellency Wayne McCook and Calvin Chen, deputy registrar for China, are pictured beside one of the new Jamaican]registered ships: the newly named, 7,545 gross ton container ship CCL Moji (ex-Panjang). The CCL Moji and its sister ship the CCL Osaka were launched in a ceremony at China’s Mawei shipyard in Fuzhou. Witnessing the launch in China…

France Telecom is pushing hard to advance its position as a single source communications and IT services provider. Corporate consolidation and technological evolution in the maritime satcom domain continue to subdue pricing, helping to level the playing field among service providers. France Telecom, in an effort to tilt the competitive balance in its favor, is embarked on an aggressive campaign to differentiate itself from the competition by positioning itself as a one-stop communication and an IT solution provider, an effort backed by an impressive R&D effort geared to delivering simple-to-use, customer driven solutions. "The challenge is to have our range of value added services, to have them known, understood and used," said Ghani Gehloul, Marketing Director, Maritime.

British ship repairer Cammell Laird Holdings Plc said on Thursday it had its strongest ever order book and reported healthy results.

Picture a precise navigation system with an overlaid electronic chart that includes an icon for every ship approaching and transiting the Panama Canal. Each icon provides the ship name, size of the ship, course and speed - information that improves safety and security, and will assist in the management of critical canal resources. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced today the formal implementation of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) - a revolutionary navigation aid that will do just that. AIS is now required equipment for all vessels transiting the waterway. Like a hawk flying high above relaying to each vessel what's coming and who's ahead, the AIS will be of great value to the ACP and shippers.

As far back to the early 1900's when the transatlantic crossing ruled the day, the motto of the cruise ship industry was to provide passengers with a vacation that was both relaxing and hospitable. For the most part, the majority of these passengers were of American descent — boarding vessels registered in foreign countries and were serviced by non-American crewmembers. Such is the case now as the major playing cruise companies adhere to these customs. All that changed though, this past March when, American Classic Voyages, headed by CEO, Philip C. Calian, broke ground in the cruise shipping industry with its decision to build and operate two U.S.-flag cruise vessels as part of its newly-established United States Lines. It has often been said that you never forget your roots.

A stagnant economy, threat of overcapacity and canceled cruises due to repairs and late deliveries have conspired to slow the hyper-growth cruise industry has enjoyed for the past decade. Even last year's new Millennium, which burst onto the cruise scene with its new gas turbine propulsion, had its share of troubles. Despite unparalleled reassurance by Celebrity that Millennium's propulsion problem was remedied, Infinity, its sistership, which was delivered this past Spring, recently experienced new problems with faulty bearings in its propulsion system — forcing the line to cancel two weeks of sailings. In addition, Celebrity's Galaxy dealt with a damaged propeller, causing lost money and cruises on that vessel.

While the Y2K bug proved to be an overblown concern, world-leading Carnival Corp. surely must feel that there's something about the turn of the new decade that's making it feeling sickly. With its stock price flying high at the $50/share level at the beginning of the year, the worlds' largest cruise company has literally been beaten down at the start of 2000, as its price per share has plummeted to the upper $20s. A myriad of unrelated circumstance, including historically high fuel costs and a series of mishaps onboard its ships, have conspired to leave the investment community leery of the stock. In an effort to rouse its stock price, CCL has scuttled a merger with a time-share specialist and announced a $1 billion buyback of its own stock.

It appears that the long awaited, much antipated and greatly debated offshore boom part II is prepared to launch again, as offshore drilling stocks surged on Thursday as U.S. crude oil prices hit a fresh nine-year high of $32.15 a barrel, fueling a second day of strong gains on Wall Street for the oilfield services sector. Drilling stocks across the board were flying high, some posting high single and low double digit gains for the day. At mid-day R&B Falcon Corp. was 1-1/2 higher at 18-1/8 and Santa Fe International Corp. was up 3 at 32-15/16 -- gains of roughly 9 and 10 percent respectively. It was the second straight day of substantial gains for oilfield services stocks…

Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. posted full-year profits ahead of expectations last week, and said the recently announced demerger of its cruises division would be completed in October. The results, which included an attempt to reassure investors that the company was not facing pricing pressures in its Princess cruise unit, initially pleased investors, perking up the shares six percent. But lingering concerns over possible discounting and worries that P&O is not hedged against rising fuel costs set in after analysts met company executives and the stock made a u-turn. The markets have been worried about price pressures in the…

Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. posted full-year profits ahead of expectations last week, and said the recently announced demerger of its cruises division would be completed in October. The results, which included an attempt to reassure investors that the company was not facing pricing pressures in its Princess cruise unit, initially pleased investors, perking up the shares six percent. But lingering concerns over possible discounting and worries that P&O is not hedged against rising fuel costs set in after analysts met company executives and the stock made a u-turn. The markets have been worried about price pressures in the…

Raytheon Company, Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $13,453,320 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-02-C-5415) for block 1B upgrade and conversion equipment for Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWS) for the U.S. Navy. Three overhauls and three on-board repair parts kits are being acquired. The MK-15 Phalanx, CIWS is a fast reaction terminal defense against low and high flying, high speed maneuvering anti-ship missile threats which have penetrated all other ships' defenses. Work will be performed in Louisville, Ky., and is expected to be completed by June 2005. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.