Ocean Travel News

As cruises and sailing experiences are booming as never, travelers are able to choose from a variety of sailing adventures that suit their goals and pocketbooks. Cruise lines come with up innovative ways of enticing sailing passengers every year. Dream a destination or favorite vacation activity, and it’s very likely you can get there via water. The following are the eight top sailing trends for 2018. Travel by boat might have had luxurious dining rooms, but the sleeping accommodations were more like a sailor’s bed than a luxury hotel.

Silver Muse, the new ultra-luxury cruise ship which Fincantieri is building for the ship owner Silversea Cruises, was launched at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Genoa Sestri Ponente. Interior fittings will now begin, leading the vessel to its delivery, scheduled in April 2017. The launching was introduced by the traditional and well-wishing coin ceremony, consisting, according to an ancient shipbuilding custom, in welding a silver commemorative coin on the last deck of the ship. The Godmother of the ceremony was Costanza Lefebvre d’Ovidio…

The keel laying ceremony of “Silver Muse”, the new ultra-luxury cruise ship which Fincantieri is building for Silversea Cruises, took place today at the shipyard in Sestri Ponente (Genova). The ceremony was attended for the shipowner, among others, by Enzo Visone, CEO of Silversea, while Fincantieri was represented by Raffaele Davassi, director of the shipyard. At 40,700 gross tonnes, able to accommodate 596 passengers on board, “Silver Muse” will represent an evolution of “Silver Spirit”, delivered in 2009 by Fincantieri in Ancona, redefining ultra-luxury ocean travel, always maintaining the small-ship intimacy and spacious all-suite accommodations that are the hallmarks of the Silversea experience. The delivery of the ship is scheduled in spring 2017.

Development of an international code of safety for ships operating in polar waters (Polar Code). IMO is developing a draft mandatory International Code of safety for ships operating in polar waters (Polar Code), to cover the full range of design, construction, equipment, operational, training, search and rescue and environmental protection matters relevant to ships operating in the inhospitable waters surrounding the two poles. The work is being co-ordinated by the  Sub-Committee on Ship Desgin and Construction (SDC)  - formerly the  Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Equipment (DE). At its first session (20 to 24 January 2014), the SDC…

Development of an international code of safety for ships operating in polar waters (Polar Code), IMO is developing a draft mandatory International Code of safety for ships operating in polar waters (Polar Code). The work is being coordinated by the  Sub-Committee on Ship Desgin and Construction (SDC)  - formerly the  Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Equipment (DE). During 2013, the DE sub-Committee  made significant progress in further developing the draft Polar Code, in particular with the finalization of a draft chapter on environmental protection.

The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway awaits the chance to rescue the crowded eastern seaboard with a readymade alternative to the parking lot known simply as I-95. The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW) extends 1,200 miles from Norfolk, Va. to Key West, Fla.. That much is common knowledge. What you may not know is that the U.S. Congress authorized the creation of the AIWW in 1919 and the entire waterway was completed in 1940. Consisting of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are manmade canals, the canal is included on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated a National Civil Engineering Landmark.

Lookouts scan the horizon, searching for any boat or vessel that looks out of place, careful eyes watch the radar screen. The entire crew is on edge; radio chatter between ships is nearly constant. Fishing vessels, normally a routine part of ocean travel, get extra scrutiny and wide passage. Any small boat approaching the ship sets off alarm bells. Anyone who makes their living on the sea knows these waters, one of the corridors of global commerce for as long man has been writing things down, are a dangerous place to travel.

The long history of Cunard Line is filled with momentous occasions and it would be difficult to imagine a company with a greater number of legendary ocean liners to call its own. The early "Cunarders" launched the world's first regularly scheduled transatlantic passenger service in the 1840's. The historic "Queens" helped define luxury ocean travel in the 20th century. For almost two hundred years, Cunard has been in the forefront of maritime engineering and innovative technology. But there may be no greater event in Cunard's illustrious history than the arrival, in 2004, of Queen Mary 2. The maiden voyage of Queen Mary 2 in January is the beginning of an entirely new era for Cunard Line…

Cunard officially took delivery today of Queen Mary 2 -- the largest (151,400 tons), longest (1,132 feet/345 metres), tallest (236 feet/72 metres), widest (135 feet/41 metres) and most expensive ($800 million) ocean liner ever built. Queen Mary 2 is the first true transatlantic liner to have been built since the line's legendary Queen Elizabeth 2 entered service in May 1969. The historic ceremony at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard here included the symbolic changing of the flag where the Blue ensign and the Cunard house flag -- a gold lion rampant on a red background -- were raised.

It is time to promote the image of shipping, IMO Secretary-General Mr. Efthimios Mitropoulos said on Monday (21 June), as he received on behalf of IMO the gift of a replica model of the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship from the International Council of Cruise Lines and their members Cunard and Carnival Cruise Lines. Referring to the Queen Mary 2 as a "a symbol for all that is excellent in shipping today", Mr. Mr. "I, therefore, believe that the time has come for us to work together, more systematically than ever before, to make politicians and the public aware of the credit shipping rightly deserves," Mr. Mitropoulos said. The model ship was presented by Ms. Pam Conover, President and CEO of Cunard Line Ltd. Also speaking at the ceremony were Mr.

Carnival Corp. announced it has finalized a contract with France's Alstom Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard for the construction of the Queen Mary 2, a new 150,000-ton "liner-style" vessel for its Cunard Line unit. The largest ocean liner ever constructed, Queen Mary 2 will have a basis-two capacity of 2,620 and will be built at a cost of approximately $780 million. Expected to enter service in late 2003, the Queen Mary 2 represents the first new ocean liner constructed in more than three decades. At 1,132 ft. (345 m) and 17 decks high, the vessel will stretch nearly four football fields in length with a height equal to a 23-story building. Queen Mary 2 will also have a beam of 135 ft. (41.1 m), making it the longest and widest passenger ship ever constructed.

Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, a subsidiary of The Manitowoc Company Inc., has been awarded a contract to build two 521-foot long tank barges. The contract includes options for two additional vessels. The contracts were issued by U.S. Shipping Partners, a leading provider of long-haul marine transportation services. The company provides transport for refined petroleum and chemical products. The barges are scheduled for delivery in 2008. The 72-foot wide barges, which can hold 156,000 barrels of oil, are designed for ocean travel and will be used for transport along the East Coast. They will be the 15th and 16th tank barges ordered from The Manitowoc Company since 1999. (Source: Green Bay Press Gazette)

Cunard Line's Queen Elizabeth 2, the world's most famous ocean liner, has completed an $18 million refurbishment program. The refit took place at Lloyd Werft Shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany from Nov. 12 to Dec. 11, 1999. From the Grand Lounge and the Queens Room to the renowned restaurants and the Golden Lion Pub, there are new furnishings, draperies, carpeting and woodworking throughout the famous liner. In addition, QE2 added Harrods, the London-based luxury department store, to the shops of its Royal Promenade. "The QE2 is our flagship vessel, she embodies the essence of British heritage and all that is Cunard,'' said Larry Pimentel, president and CEO of Cunard Line and Seabourn Cruise Line.