Ss France News

Aker Yards and Alstom announced their intention to join forces in shipbuilding in which the companies would establish a new company consisting of the shipyards in Saint-Nazaire and Lorient. Aker Yards would own 75 percent of this new company and Alstom would commit itself to keep the remaining 25 percent until 2010. The transaction would enable continuity in management and the actions taken as part of the “Marine 2010“ performance improvement and cost reduction program already under implementation in ALSTOM Marine. The transaction would have no direct impact on employment. By being part of Aker Yards, the new company would benefit from a broadened product range and strong industrial synergies.

Aker Yards and ALSTOM will join forces in shipbuilding, seeking to create a shipbuilding leader focused on high value added ships, including cruise ships. The companies plan to establish a new company consisting of the shipyards in Saint-Nazaire and Lorient. Aker Yards will own 75 percent of the new company, and ALSTOM will keep the remaining 25 percent until 2010. Aker Yards currently has 13 yards in five countries. The new company will offer some unique synergies, particularly on the cruise market segment, where Italy’s Fincantieri has dominated in recent years. The combined French and Finnish builders have produced a number of world class cruise ships through the years, including icons such as SS France, Queen Mary 2, the Voyager class and the Freedom class ships.

U.S. Coast Guard inspectors cleared the SS Norway to sail, a week after owner Norwegian Cruise Line was ordered to make repairs that scuttled the Caribbean vacations of 2,032 passengers. The sleek, blue-hulled Norway, built 40 years ago as the SS France for Atlantic crossings, has been berthed for more than a week in Miami but was now scheduled to depart on Sunday for a seven-day cruise of the eastern Caribbean, according to the Coast Guard and NCL Holding ASA. "Their certification to carry passengers is OK," Coast Guard Chief Sean Benson said. Coast Guard inspectors last week refused to sign off on the Norway's fire safety system and ordered NCL, to fix 106 poorly patched leaks in its sprinkler system.

On the morning of Sunday, May 25, 2003, passengers onboard the Norwegian Cruise Lines' (NCL) vessel, S/S Norway awoke to a loud boom, as the vessel returned from seven-day Caribbean cruise to its homeport in Miami, Fla. The noise, which came from the vessel's engine room, is believed to be caused by a steam leak from one of the 41-year-old ship's boilers. The explosion, has, at press time, claimed the lives of seven crewmembers, the most recent being Ramon Villarais, 39, who was employed as an engine room stoker. According to a statement issued by NCL on May 28, 2003, the following six additional crewmembers perished in the tragedy: Ramil Bernal…