Westerdam News

Singapore will allow cruise ship Costa Fortuna to dock in the city-state on Tuesday, authorities said, after it was turned away from ports in Malaysia and Thailand over coronavirus fears.Costa Fortuna departed from Singapore, where it is home-ported, on March 3.Italian cruise line Costa Crociere said there were no suspected virus cases among its guests, which includes Italians. Italy has the largest number of cases of the virus outside China with 7,375 infections.The operator…

An American passenger from a cruise ship that docked in Cambodia has tested positive for the new coronavirus a second time in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia said on Sunday, after the cruise firm and Cambodian authorities sought further tests.The 83-year-old woman was the first passenger from the MS Westerdam, operated by Carnival Corp unit Holland America Inc, to test positive for the virus. She tested positive in the Malaysian capital where she arrived on Friday from the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville.But the cruise ship operator had sought more tests, saying the first result was preliminary. Cambodian authorities also called on Malaysia to…

The plight of the cruise ship off Japan with more than 200 coronavirus infections and the shunning of another by five ports despite no known cases has led to a sharp change in tack for an industry in shock: avoid Asia.To that end, many cruises in the region are being cancelled while others currently sailing are being re-routed, skipping originally scheduled stops in China, Hong Kong and Singapore.Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd on Thursday canceled 18 cruises in Southeast Asia after calling off eight trips to China last week.

Cambodia has agreed to allow a cruise ship, that has been turned away by five countries over fears that someone aboard may have the coronavirus, to dock and disembark its passengers, the Holland America Line said.The MS Westerdam, which has 1,455 passengers and 802 crew on board, docked at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville on Thursday, the company said. Guests have been cleared to begin disembarking on Friday.The ship - which HAL says has no sick passengers - has been turned away from Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, Guam and the Philippines.

Cambodia has agreed to let a cruise ship, that has been turned away by five countries over fears that someone aboard may have the coronavirus, to dock and disembark its passengers, the Holland America Line said on Wednesday.The MS Westerdam, which has 1,455 passengers and 802 crew on board, will dock at the Cambodian sea port of Sihanoukville on Thursday, the company said.The ship - which says it has no sick passengers - has been turned away from Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, Guam and the Philippines. (Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Dozens more people onboard a cruise ship quarantined in the port of Yokohama, Japan, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday and thousands of passengers remained confined to their cabins, only allowed on deck briefly for fresh air.The Diamond Princess, owned by Miami-based Carnival Corp, was placed on a two-week quarantine on arriving at Yokohama on Monday after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong was diagnosed with the virus.Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told a news conference that 41 people on the liner had tested positive for coronavirus on Friday…

Engineer wisdom: Nothing is worse as the right idea at the wrong time. But with the new ECOCHARGE Two-Stage Turbocharging System MAN D&T has reached both goals. Aside from the ever-popular “Fuel Consumption Reduction,” a leading player in the development of large combustion engines since the second halve of the 1980s has been reducing harmful exhaust emissions. In view of increased environmental awareness and the future price movements for fossil fuels, these two factors will remain a dominant force in future engine developments for the immediate future.

Two major bridge refit contracts have been completed by Radio Holland USA on Holland America Line’s cruise ships Oosterdam and Prinsendam. The bridge refit on board the M/S Oosterdam was concluded in Palermo, Sicily in early May. Then just days later Radio Holland continued with a bridge upgrade project for the M/S Prinsendam, which took place in Freeport, Grand Bahama. The latest refits follow refit work on M/S Noordam and Westerdam in 2014 and 2015. Rob van den Hof, Nautical Superintendent of Technical Operations from Holland America Line…

As part of a $300-million brand enhancement initiative, Carnival Corporation’s Holland America Line is planning enhancements to its top staterooms with new furnishings, décor, amenities and upgrades for all suites on the line’s Signature-, Vista- and R-Class ships. The first ships to undergo the suite transformation will be ms Eurodam and ms Oosterdam, followed by ms Nieuw Amsterdam, ms Westerdam, ms Zuiderdam and ms Noordam. Additionally, ms Amsterdam, ms Rotterdam, ms Volendam…

Holland America Line’s cruise ship MS Noordam recently underwent a 10-day dry-dock period, during which it was fit with a customized bridge from Radio Holland. The work on Netherlands-flagged MS Noordam included refitting the navigation and bridge systems to improve working conditions in line with HAL’s Bridge Resource Management concept. Radio Holland, a supplier, installer and maintainer of maritime electronics, also provided additional equipment including an upgrade of the autopilot interface with the propulsion systems to deliver fuel savings.

The extensive global network of Furuno service centers, subsidiaries and distributors was one of the reasons that Holland America Line (HAL) chose Furuno when it was time to retrofit their cruise ships with the very latest in a fully integrated navigation system. After considerable research in cruise ship navigation electronics, HAL selected the Furuno bridge solution and engaged Radio Holland to procure and install the equipment, starting with their first ship, the MS Westerdam. The large bridge features an impressive list of equipment including four Chart Radars (two X-Band and two S-Band), two ECDIS charting systems with Conning displays, an Autopilot, two IMO DGPS receivers, two AIS transmitters, a Track Control System to drive the Azipods and three Remote Sensor Displays.

The Port of Seattle’s 2015 cruise season began May 1 at Smith Cove Cruise Terminal with the arrival of the Holland America Line Westerdam. The port expects 192 cruise ship calls this season, bringing an estimated 895,055 revenue passengers. “Each of these cruise ships contribute $2.5 million to the local economy, which comes out to over $400 million for this cruise season,” said Port Commissioner Stephanie Bowman. “We also want passengers to stay in the area an extra few days to spend more time and money in Washington state.

On recent routine United States Public Health inspections (USPHI) conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Holland America Line’s ms Statendam, ms Nieuw Amsterdam and ms Ryndam achieved perfect scores of 100. For Statendam, the unannounced inspection was Feb. 19, 2015, at Hilo, Hawaii, during a 30-day Tahiti and Marquesas cruise roundtrip from San Diego. CDC officials surprised Nieuw Amsterdam, on March 1, 2015, at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, while preparing for its seven-day Caribbean cruise. Ryndam completed its inspection March 8 in Tampa, Florida, while also getting ready for a seven-day Caribbean cruise. Prior to these inspections, Statendam received a score of 100 in June 2014 during a call at Ketchikan, Alaska.

Holland America Line’s ms Eurodam achieved a perfect score of 100 on a recent routine United States Public Health (USPH) inspection conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This achievement marks the seventh consecutive perfect score for the ship. The unannounced inspection of ms Eurodam was held Oct. 22, 2014, during a call at Boston, Mass. The ship recently repositioned cruise to Fort. Lauderdale, Fla., for its Caribbean season. “To earn a score of 100 on any given public health inspection is fantastic, but to earn seven consecutive perfect scores is beyond extraordinary,” said Richard Meadows, Holland America Line’s executive vice president, sales, marketing and guest programs. During U.S.P.H.

Travelers looking for an intimate, mid-sized cruise experience in the Caribbean have 126 itineraries to choose from during Holland America Line’s 2014-15 Caribbean season. well as partial transits of the Panama Canal. The diverse itineraries visit 30 ports and give discerning guests more options than any other premium line exploring the region. From October 2014 through April 2015, ms Eurodam, ms Maasdam, ms Nieuw Amsterdam, ms Noordam, ms Ryndam, ms Westerdam and ms Zuiderdam sail regular Caribbean voyages, while ms Amsterdam and ms Prinsendam each sail one December holiday cruise in the region. The ships feature 21 different seven-, 10-, 11- and 14-day itineraries that can be combined into longer Collectors’ Voyages ranging from 14 to 25 days.

Holland America Line’s ms Statendam and ms Westerdam achieved perfect scores of 100 on recent routine United States Public Health inspections conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The unannounced inspection for ms Statendam was held June 17, 2014, during a call at Ketchikan, Alaska. Westerdam was inspected July 21 during a call at Juneau, Alaska. Both ships were in the middle of sailing seven-day Alaska cruises. “Scoring a perfect 100 on a CDC inspection is a testament to the hard work, knowledge and dedication by both the shipboard staff and those involved in our corporate offices,” said Stein Kruse, chief executive officer, Holland America Group. During a U.S.P.H.

Holland America Line was named the 2014 Marine Environmental Business of the Year by the Port of Seattle. Port commissioner Courtney Gregoire presented the award to Keith Taylor, senior vice president, fleet operations, at the Seattle Propeller Club’s Maritime Festival Lunch held Tuesday, May 13, 2014, aboard Carnival Miracle, which was docked at Port of Seattle. The cruise line was recognized for its efforts to reduce its global environmental footprint through a series of objectives that greatly reduce consumption of fuel and water, engine emissions and generation of solid waste, along with increasing recycling across its fleet of 15 ships.

Holland America Line commissioned Imtech Marine USA to refit the bridges of three Holland America Line cruise ships – ms Westerdam, ms Noordam, and ms Oosterdam. The equipment consists of FCR-28x9 X-band radars, FAR-2837 S-band radars, FMD 3300 ECDIS, FAP 2000/3000 Track control and GP150D GPS systems, all Furuno equipment. Imtech Marine represents Furuno in the United States. Holland America Line has partnered with Imtech Marine on this series of refits to provide engineering, installation, training, and service through Imtech’s worldwide service network.

The Coast Guard is investigating an allision between the 935-ft cruise ship Westerdam and ice in the vicinity of Yakutat Bay Wednesday, May 11. The Westerdam was reportedly maneuvering through ice near Hubbard Glacier Tuesday evening when it sustained damage approximately 15 feet below the waterline. The hull was reportedly not breached and no injuries or pollution were reported. The Westerdam continued on her voyage to Sitka, where she was met by Coast Guard officials.

Holland America Line contributed $357m to the Seattle economy and $481m to Washington state, mostly stemming from the cruise line's Seattle to Alaska itineraries. Holland America Line has added a fourth ship to the Seattle contingent, which will increase the number of sailings from 61 in 2009 to 69 in 2010. Direct spending in 2009 included $73,424,807 by the company in Seattle including $63,704,926 for payroll and $14,248,260 spent by passengers and crew in shops, restaurants, hotels, museums, local sightseeing attractions and taxicabs. Holland America Line's economic impact includes maintaining a corporate headquarters in Seattle, community giving, local payroll, provisioning ships, passenger spending, crew spending, port fees and taxes, and marketing and sales expenditures in Washington.

GE announced that three new cruise ships recently went into service powered by GE LM aeroderivative gas turbines. The three ships -- Serenade of the Seas, Island Princess and Oosterdam -- each took their maiden voyage during July 2003. “GE is delighted to see the number of cruise ships continue to rise steadily that rely on our reliable and efficient LM gas turbines for propulsion as well as onboard power,” said Karl Matson, general manager of GE Marine Engines. “To date, 22 LM2500+ and four LM2500 GE gas turbine-generator sets are in operation or slated for service on 21 cruise ships.

Holland America Line has announced that the line's fourth Vista-class ship, scheduled for delivery in January 2006, will be named ms Noordam. The 1,848-passenger ship will be the fourth Holland America Line vessel to sail with the prestigious name. The first ms Noordam joined the Holland America Line fleet in 1902, sailing the Rotterdam-New York run until being damaged by a mine during World War I. In 1938 the Noordam name was then given to one of two new passenger-cargo ships, which offered exclusively first-class accommodations for 148 passengers. The current ms Noordam, delivered in 1984, has sailed on nearly 800 voyages and is widely considered to be one of the most beautifully decorated ships afloat.

The natural progression is underway from installation, design and commissioning of GE gas turbines aboard cruise ships to cooperation with users to further enhance operations. GE is focusing its efforts on optimizing maintenance and improved system reliability, the company reported today at the Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention. "The use of gas turbines to power cruise ships was long in coming, so it seems fitting that the four years since the world's first gas turbine-powered cruise ship set out on its maiden voyage have gone by quickly," said Karl Matson, general manager of GE Marine. Celebrity Cruises' Millennium is the first cruise ship to use gas turbines.