Saga News

The Portuguese cluster Forum Oceano and Norwegian Offshore Wind have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration between the supply chains in the two countries.The MoU aims to lay the ground work for new contracts between companies from the two countries.The agreement was signed at a reception this week, during a visit to Portugal organized by Norwegian Offshore Wind and The Norwegian Embassy in Portugal.Forum Oceano and Norwegian Offshore Wind both focus on developing a strong supply chain in floating offshore wind.

The Port of Los Angeles has recognized the achievements of more than two dozen shipping lines and carriers for participating in the Port’s Vessel Speed Reduction Program (VSRP), an air quality and annual incentive program for vessel operators who reduce their speed as they approach or depart the port.The voluntary program is one of many sustainability efforts currently underway at the Port to reduce emissions and decarbonize operations.Emission reductions are achieved under the…

U.S. lawmakers from both political parties have urged President Joe Biden and members of his administration to resolve a months-long delay in the transfer of a cargo of oil from a seized Iranian tanker off Texas.The Suez Rajan has been stuck near Galveston about 50 miles (80 km) from Houston since May 30, as shipping companies fear any vessel unloading it would lead other oil buyers to shun their ships on future voyages. The U.S. seized the tanker in a sanctions enforcement operation.The delay in discharging the cargo is also partly out of fear of repercussions from Iran. A senior commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' navy said last month Iran would retaliate against any oil company unloading Iranian oil from a seized tanker.Senators Joni Ernst…

LNT Marine and Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI) received approval in principle (AIP) from ABS for the latest variant of their LNT A-BOX liquified natural gas (LNG) containment system, which is more than three times the size of the previous design.The new design is for a 175,000-cubic-meter (m3) LNG carrier, a significant increase in capacity from the earlier 45,000 m3 design installed on the pioneering ABS-classed Saga Dawn carrier for Saga LNG Shipping.The LNT A-BOX system features self-supporting IMO Type-A tanks mounted within an insulated hold space.

Solstad Offshore, a Norwegian offshore vessel owner, said Tuesday it had sold the platform supply vessel Far Swan.The company, which last year said it would trim its fleet to make it more competitive, with a plan to divest 37 vessels "over a period of time," said  it had delivered the Far Swan to the new owner on November 16th, 2021."The sale of the vessel will result in an immaterial accounting effect for Q4 2021," Solstad Offshore said. The vessel was sold by Solstad Offshore's subsidiary Farstad Shipping.

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Solstad Offshore is continuing with divestments of non-core vessels and has now sold the Rem Provider platform supply vessel.The vessel, built in 2007, was sold by Solstad Offshore's subsidiary Solstad Rederi AS and the vessel was delivered to the new owner took on Friday. "The sale of the vessel will result in an immaterial accounting effect for Q4 2021," Solstad Offshore said, without sharing further details on the buyer or on the sale value. VesselsValue values the vessel at $3,25 million, with demolition value at around $1,13 million.

Norwegian offshore vessel owners DOF and Solstad Offshore on Tuesday each announced construction support vessel sale deals.DOF Subsea said it had agreed to sell the vessel “Geosund” to an international buyer. The estimated delivery of the vessel to the new owner is in Q1, 2022, the company said, without sharing details on the identity of the buyer. Geosund (Ex-Far Swan) was built in 2001 as a platform supply vessel and rebuilt to a construction support vessel in 2006.Separately…

British over-50s holidays group Saga Plc said on Monday it would likely resume its cruises on June 27, encouraged by high demand for tours despite repeated lockdowns and echoing similar projections from other cruise operators.A year after several cruise ships were hit by major coronavirus outbreaks, cruise lines including Royal Caribbean Group and Carnival Corp have been pushing ahead with plans to resume cruises this summer, especially as large numbers of Americans get vaccinated.As demand for tours picks up…

Saga on Wednesday reported a stronger than expected annual profit, sending its shares sharply higher, as lower motor insurance payouts during lockdowns offset losses in its over-50s tour and cruise operations.The British company, hit hard last year by a shutdown of cruises globally and collapse of other travel, said it was ready to resume its tour and cruise businesses this year after suspending them in March 2020, with timing subject to government restrictions.“Customer demand remains strong, with evidence of significant pent-up demand from customers ready to travel,” Saga said.Saga’s shares jumped nearly 10% to 3.81 pounds by 1010 GMT.Saga plans to launch its Spirit of Discovery cruise at the end of June…

A stranded container ship blocking the Suez Canal threatens to make it even more difficult for European and U.S. retailers to keep products in stock during the coronavirus pandemic.The Suez Canal saga that began on Tuesday and could go on for weeks, is just the latest crisis to strike the global supply chain that was upended when coronavirus shutdowns spurred house-bound consumers to upgrade appliances, sofas, televisions and backyards.IKEA, the world’s largest furniture seller…

Norwegian shipowner Hunter Group said its Hunter Tankers subsidiary has signed a memorandum of agreement to sell its 2019-built very large crude carrier (VLCC) Hunter Atla to a Eurasian buyer for $84.5 million.The vessel is expected to be delivered to its new owner in March, leaving Hunter with a fleet of four VLCCs.The company announced the sales of Hunter Laga and Hunter Saga in the second half of last year.

In early 2021, the somber news from the cruise sector continued. For some cruise brands, their own version of “lockdowns” will have spanned an entire year. By late January, 2021, Carnival and others were hesitantly pegging their restarts for April/May 2021, and for some markets, late summer, under a Conditional Sail Order promulgated late last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).What else to do but look ahead?In preliminary earnings guidance, Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL)…

Britain’s over-50s holidays group Saga said on Tuesday total cruise bookings stood at 140 million pounds ($191.3 million) as it prepares to restart sailing in May after a torrid year for the travel industry due to the global health crisis.Mass vaccination drives have offered hopes for a revival this year but the industry faces fresh uncertainty as new variants of the coronavirus force some countries to bring back curbs, threatening a quick return to normalcy in leisure travel.The owner of Saga Holidays and Saga Cruises has mandated vaccinations for its travelers after customer feedback, cut guest capacity and has a multi-layer COVID-19 testing in place as it looks to attract customers after a year of suspension.“We are ready to restart both Cruise and Tours in May…

Spirit of Adventure, the second new cruise ship built by Meyer Werft for Saga Cruises, was delivered to the British cruise line Tuesday in Emden, the German shipbuilder announced.The delayed delivery of the 58,250 GT luxury liner comes after setbacks at the Papenburg shipyard caused by COVID-19."Despite all the adversities in the last few months caused by the [coronavirus] pandemic, we were able to complete both the construction in Papenburg and the testing and commissioning of the ship within a manageable time frame…

Saga announced it has completed the sale of cruise ship Saga Sapphire to Anex Tour, a family-run Turkish tour operator. The ship is scheduled to reenter service as Blue Sapphire operating for Anex Tour’s new cruise line in 2021.While many cruise ships are currently being sold or scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Saga Sapphire sale is unrelated to COVID-19. Anex Tour had announced in August 2019 it would acquire the vessel.Neset Kockar, Chairman of Anex Tour, said,…

German shipbuilder Meyer Werft floated out Spirit of Adventure, the second new cruise ship it has built for British company Saga Cruises.The 58,250 GT cruise ship left the shipyard's covered building dock I (hall 5) on Friday, allowing the funnel to be lifted onto the ship by crane and mounted. The vessel underwent several tests before berthing at the outfitting pier where it will undergo additional testing and interior outfitting over coming weeks before sea trials and delivery later this year.Meyer Werft said the luxury liner is scheduled to start her passage from the Papenburg…

Singapore-based offshore drilling rig builder Keppel Offshore & Marine has delivered a newbuild jack-up drilling rig to Norway's Borr Drilling.The rig, named Hild, was built to Keppel's KFELS Super B Class design. The Hild is the sixth jack-up that Keppel has delivered to Borr Drilling, out of the 11 that have been ordered. It is capable of operating in 400 feet water depth and drilling to 35,000 feet. The jack-up is equipped with a maximum combined cantilever load of 2,700 kips and high capacity hook loads of two million poundsFollowing this delivery…

Stena RoRo said it is preparing to convert an out-of-work vehicle and passenger ferry into a hospital ship to assist in response to the coronavirus pandemic.The large roll-on/roll-off passenger vessel Stena Saga previously sailed on Stena Line's Oslo–Fredrikshamn route from 1994 but has been idled since the service was permanently suspended in March due to the COVID-19 outbreak and travel restrictions imposed by several countries.Seeking an alternative use for the vessel, Stena…

A flotilla of oil tankers is sailing empty from Europe and the Mediterranean toward the U.S. Gulf Coast to take advantage of surging shipping rates, according to shipping sources and Refinitiv Eikon data on Monday.Eight tankers, an unusually high number, are in the Atlantic and steaming to the United States, with capacity of up to 5.6 million barrels of oil combined, the people said. Freight rates for Aframax vessels out of the U.S. Gulf coast hit record levels last month, drawing more vessels to the region.The United States exported a record 4.46 million barrels of crude oil per day (bpd) in the week ended Dec. 27, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, as shale producers continued to deliver more oil than U.S.

Travel and insurance group Saga said it has seen a higher level of near-term cancellations for its cruises and tours due to the coronavirus epidemic.Forward passenger tour bookings were down around 20% versus the prior year, with a more significant impact in recent weeks, the UK group that caters for the over-50s said in a statement on Thursday.It said it had seen a higher level of cruise cancellations for departures in the near-term and more generally a lower level of bookings for departures further out…

Several major cruise operators have voluntarily suspended operations in response to the developing coronavirus pandemic. For most, the reason given has been "an abundance of caution".On Wednesday, Viking became the first major cruise line to temporarily suspend operations, canceling all river and ocean cruises scheduled to embark between March 12 to April 30. It said it expected to resume sailings on May 1.Princess Cruises, the operator of two coronavirus-stricken ships -- Diamond…

The maritime software, services and data analysis provider NAPA has announced the signing of a new contract with the northernmost year-round ferry, Wasaline, for its newbuilding Aurora Botnia.When it launches in 2021 the Aurora Botnia will be the world’s first LNG/LBG battery ship with pods under the vehicle deck, as well as the world’s most environmentally friendly RoPax vessel.Under the agreement, NAPA will provide Wasaline with its industry benchmark software applications, NAPA Emergency Computer, which delivers unmatched integrated emergency decision support, and NAPA Loading Computer, which optimizes vessel load while minimizing stress and safety risk.NAPA Loading Computer and NAPA Emergency Computer have been approved by all major classification societies.Peter Ståhlberg…

Built to guide mariners through safe waters, the Valiant Rock Lighted Whistle Buoy 11 was dangerously adrift in the Long Island Sound.When ferry operators traveling between Orient Point and Fishers Island, New York, first reported the buoy off station on Jan. 17, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Oak (WLB-211) was already underway but foul weather kept the cutter from removing it.This was the beginning of a two-week saga that would involve several Coast Guard units. Like the Loch Ness monster of the Long Island Sound, the 35-foot-tall green buoy was occasionally seen but hard to catch.