Ship Itineraries News

The persistent eutrophication (being too rich in nutrients) of the Baltic Sea prompted the IMO’s Baltic Member States to tackle shipping’s < 0.1% contribution by designating the Baltic Sea as the first Special Area under Annex IV of IMO’s MARPOL Convention [1]. Passenger ships must give sewage to wastewater treatment works (WWTWs) ashore via the port reception facilities (PRFs) or operate a nutrient removal sewage treatment plant (STP) on board prior to discharge. It has been perceived as a positive move. But how special is the Special Area?Rules at sea vs.

Celebrity Cruises has taken a bold step in ship design with the signing of a letter of intent for a new class of vessels, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and French shipbuilder STX France announced today. The two 2,900-guest, 117,000-gross-registered-ton ships, developed under the project name EDGE will build upon the modern luxury experience of the brand’s Millennium and Solstice Class vessels. At 984 feet long, 123 feet wide and 190 feet high, Project EDGE will deliver small ship itineraries with large ship amenities, a perfect vacation experience in step with today’s premium vacationer. “The addition of two project EDGE vessels to our fleet delivers on our long-term strategic plan of moderate capacity growth…

WiFi@Sea high-speed network will combine land-based systems and advanced satellite connectivity designed to give passengers faster, more stable and powerful internet service at sea. With connectivity speeds that can be roughly 10 times faster than ever before, passengers will be able to share their cruise experience via Internet, email and social media in real time. Carnival Corporation & plc has unveiled a hybrid wireless network – a high-speed service to eventually be rolled out to all 101 of its ships on all nine of its brands.

Vince Cook, CEO of Grand Circle Cruise Line, informs that the company has acquired the 'M/V Corinthian', a 98-passenger, ocean-going vessel that currently operates in Antarctica. They had chartered the ship for the past year and intend to expand the Corinthian's operations with the launch of three new small ship cruise itineraries in 2015. The ship was acquired for an undisclosed price from Travel Dynamics International, an operator of educational programs aboard small cruise ships…

GE announced that its fleet of 25 aeroderivative marine gas turbines has accumulated more than 320,000 hours operating aboard 16 cruise ships. GE remains the only gas turbine manufacturer to have its engines in service on cruise ships, the company reported today at the Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention. "We are setting a new reliability standard in the cruise industry for propulsion and onboard power," said Karl Matson, general manager of GE Transportation's marine business, Evendale, Ohio. The GE gas turbines now in service are configured in two different types of arrangements: 16 LM2500+ gas turbines are the basis for a COmbined Gas turbine and steam turbine integrated Electric drive System (COGES) used aboard four Celebrity Cruises and four Royal Caribbean International cruise ships…

Throughout the history of shipbuilding, the key challenge too often has been how to build the right ship around a given propulsion system, rather than creating tailored propulsion system for the ship. That was true when the best propulsion "engines" available were sails, and it is also true for today's diesel, gas turbine and electric hybrid systems as well. The ideal, of course, is to allocate cargo space, cabin space, the shape of propulsion units, and even the shape of the ship's itineraries around the needs of the marketplace rather than around the limitations imposed by the ship's propulsion system. Factors that remain in the path of that ideal include the underlying efficiency across a broad operational range with which chemical energy is turned into mechanical energy…

The International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) and its 16 members today announced formal adoption of aggressive new guidelines to prevent the occurrence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) – both before and after ships sail. Developed in close consultation with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Health Canada, the measures are designed to protect ships’ passengers, crew and ports of call alike. Although no confirmed reports of SARS have been reported on any ICCL member vessel, the membership of the ICCL is acting with an abundance of caution. In the weeks following the initial outbreak of SARS, cruise…