Glacier Bay News

American Cruise Lines announced on Wednesday that it has added Starlink satellite internet to its 2023 fleet of riverboats and small cruise ships. The new high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi will be complimentary on all 2023 cruises, ensuring seamless connectivity and faster upload speeds nearly everywhere the company’s small ships are cruising throughout the country—from Glacier Bay Alaska to the sunny Florida Keys; from the Napa Valley wine country to the historic Hudson River; and from…

Port Angeles, Wash. boatbuilder Armstrong Marine USA said it recently delivered the 45’8” by 16’ semi-displacement catamaran, Serac, to the National Park Service (NPS) for use in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, in Alaska.NPS selected Armstrong Marine’s proposal to build the Jutson Marine design in a competitive solicitation process last year. The vessel will be utilized for crew/cargo transfer and pilot operations in the park.The shaft and wheel propulsion system is comprised of twin John Deere 200-horsepower diesel engines…

As the novel coronavirus and its impacts continue to spread across America, U.S. shipbuilders, by and large, continue to build. While most yards have been deemed essential to marine transportation and/or national security and have been able to maintain operations, the situation at and around every shipyard is different, and there are several builders across the country that have had to temporarily suspend activity. In either scenario, it’s far from business as usual for America’s…

While much of the maritime world slumps, the cruise sector is enjoying its most vibrant growth in a generation. Carnival Corporation, in particular, is doing very well as its financial performance is stronger than ever, with 2016 delivering the best year of earnings in company history. The company’s adjusted earnings for 2016 of $2.6 billion is the best annual financial performance in its 44-year history. With that, Hans Hederstrom, Managing Director give overview of CSMART, one of the newest and richly appointed simulation centers on the planet.

Carnival Corporation & plc today announced the official opening of its Arison Maritime Center, a world-class facility dedicated to providing safety training for its bridge and engineering officers responsible for the navigation and operation of the company’s fleet of cruise ships. Located in Almere, Netherlands just outside Amsterdam, the new 75-million-euro facility features some of industry’s most advanced simulators and training equipment to provide annual training to more than 6,500 bridge and engineering officers from Carnival’s 10 global cruise line brands.

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.

While in the vicinity of Jaw Point at Glacier Bay, Alaska, Holland America Line’s ms Noordam assisted 41 persons on a disabled sightseeing boat Wednesday, June 10. Noordam responded to a call for aid at approximately 12:35 p.m. local time to assist the 79-foot sightseeing vessel Baranof Wind, which was experiencing mechanical troubles near Johns Hopkins Glacier. The ship lowered a tender, which collected 40 tourists and one Glacier Bay National Park ranger and returned to Noordam. “We are proud of the proficient response Captain van Donselaar and his team executed in assisting the passengers of Baranof Wind,” said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line.

While leaving from Margerie Glacier to depart Glacier Bay, Alaska, Holland America Line's 'Statendam' assisted 103 persons on a disabled sightseeing boat, having responded to a call to assist the 79-foot sightseeing vessel 'Baranof Wind', which was experiencing mechanical troubles and had lost power in the ice near John Hopkins Glacier. The ship lowered two tenders, which collected 102 tourists and one Glacier Bay National Park ranger and returned to Statendam. A Glacier Bay National Park ranger aboard Statendam assisted in coordinating the assistance from the ship's bridge.

Well-received American Cruise Lines' Alaska Inside Passage cruises to be offered again in 2013. American Cruise Lines , a leading operator of riverboats and small cruise ships in the United States, announces the conclusion and success of its inaugural 2012 season in Alaska. The 100-passenger American Spirit – the newest small ship in Alaska –operated numerous weekly roundtrip cruises this summer from Juneau. The inaugural season in Alaska was extremely well received by guests who were the first to enjoy Alaska in the comfort, elegance and intimacy of the American Spirit.

Holland America Line's 'Volendam' rescues 70 stranded sightseers in Glacier Bay, Alaska. While en route to Margerie Glacier in Glacier Bay, Alaska, Holland America Line's Volendam rescued 70 persons from a disabled sightseeing boat, having responded to a distress call from the 79-foot sightseeing vessel Baranof Wind, which struck a rock near Russell Island in Glacier Bay disabling its steering and propulsion and causing the boat to take on water. The cruise ship lowered a tender…

The Coast Guard, National Park Service, and Good Samaritans assisted 76 people from a sightseeing vessel taking on water in Glacier Bay, Sunday. The Coast Guard, the National Park Service, and the Holland America cruise ship Volendam responded to a report from the 79-foot sightseeing vessel Baranof Wind after it reportedly struck a rock and started taking on water in Glacier Bay. The Coast Guard launched an Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew with a dewatering pump and diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Anacapa to assist the Baranof Wind crew. The Volendam crew transferred 70 people from the Baranof Wind to their vessel, two people were taken aboard a National Park Service boat and four crewmembers remained aboard the Baranof Wind to maintain pumps and to ensure it stays afloat.

American Cruise Lines  announce that its inaugural season in Alaska aboard the American Spirit has begun, with its opening 11-night Seattle-to-Juneau cruise having just been successfully completed. Weekly roundtrip cruises from Juneau will now run through early September. Featuring a complimentary shore tour package and pre-cruise hotel stay, the seven-night 'Alaska Inside Passage' roundtrip cruises depart from and return to Juneau. Ports of call include Glacier Bay, Icy Strait/Hoonah, Skagway, Petersburg and Tracy Arm.

InnerSea Discoveries LLC, the Seattle-based parent company of high-end American Safari Cruises, announced the purchase of two vessels for its new small-ship adventure cruising brand, marketed under the same name as the parent company. Designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of young-minded, adventurous and experiential travelers, InnerSea Discoveries will operate at a lower per diem cost and will debut in Alaska’s Inside Passage in May 2011. Formerly owned by Glacier Bay Cruise Line, the 157-ft, 66-guest Wilderness Adventurer was purchased for $201,240, and the 170-ft, 80-guest Wilderness Discoverer was sold for $314,760. Both boats are moored in Seattle…

Marcon International, Inc. of Coupeville, Wa. reported that the sales of the two U.S. flag mini-cruise ships Wilderness Discoverer (ex- Mayan Prince) and Wilderness Adventurer (ex- Spirit of Adventure, Caribbean Prince) have concluded. Both vessels were sold by creditors JPMorgan Chase to private Pacific Northwest interests for Alaskan operations to begin in May 2011. The vessels will be operated under a new small ship adventure brand called InnerSea Discoveries, which is designed to be more adventuresome and appealing to a broad spectrum of younger-minded and experiential travelers.

Cruise West, the small-ship exploration cruise line, has been awarded by the National Park Service eight cruise ship entries to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. The cruise line also holds two tour vessel permits that allows 105 entries of its smaller vessels. This is the highest number of tour vessel entries allocated to one cruise line. “Cruise West is unique as we hold both kinds of ship permits – a cruise ship permit for the Spirit of Oceanus (over 100 tons), and a tour vessel permit for the remainder of our fleet (ships under 100 tons), said Chairman and Managing Director Dick West. Seven of Cruise West’s ten Alaska cruise itineraries ply the waters of UNESCO World Heritage Site Glacier Bay National Park.

The state Department of Ecology (Ecology) has fined Glacier Bay Inc. $39,000 for repeatedly failing to meet five safety and environmental requirements for handling dangerous waste. While the Monroe boat-builder fulfilled some portions of the state's dangerous-waste regulations, it did not consistently correct the five violations between April 2002 and March of this year. During that time, Ecology tried to help the company come into compliance by making technical assistance available. The company failed to properly label drums that stored waste acetone and did not provide adequate secondary containment in case of leaks or spills. Acetone is highly flammable and requires special safeguards to prevent fires or explosions, and its fumes are toxic.

The Ocean Conservancy is releasing Cruise Control: How Cruise Ships Affect the Marine Environment. Cruise ships can carry up to 5,000 passengers and produce waste equivalent to that of small cities, yet they are not governed by the same anti-pollution laws as municipalities of comparable size on land. The Cruise Control report recommends a series of necessary governmental actions, including: Regulating all cruise ship discharges; Amending the Clean Water Act to to prevent discharges of raw sewage and toxic chemicals; Requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop effluent limits, stronger air emission limits and mandatory ballast water treatment programs…

Regulators seeking to prevent cruise-ship pollution should measure air quality this summer in Juneau, conduct random tests of waste discharges into Alaska's waters and complete a survey of ships' waste practices, said a draft report issued last Wednesday. The report, released by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), gave conclusions of work groups representing state and federal regulators, cruise companies and citizens concerned about the impacts of growing cruise crowds. The work groups have been meeting since December to address complaints about cruise pollution - and regulatory gaps in Juneau and other ports along southeast Alaska's Inside Passage.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) has responded to an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness caused by a Norwalk virus aboard Holland America’s Ryndam by recommending that the cruise line implement aggressive sanitation and disinfection procedures. Although these measures were implemented by the crew on July 25, additional cases continued to develop, and on July 31, Holland America Lines elected to take the Ryndam out of service from August 1 through August 7 to break the cycle of the Norwalk virus being spread among passengers and crew. While the vessel is out of service, Holland America will also continue with a systematic cleaning and sanitizing of the vessel.

Carnival Cruise Lines, a unit of Carnival received its newest fun ship – the $375 million, 88,500-ton Carnival Spirit, during the traditional "hand-over" ceremony at the Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Helsinki, Finland, where the 2,124-passenger vessel was built. The Carnival Spirit, the 15th vessel in the company’s fleet and the first in a new class of ship for the line, will depart Helsinki Thursday, April 12 on its transatlantic crossing and is expected to arrive Miami on Tuesday, April 24. Carnival Spirit will begin its inaugural season with a 16-day Panama Canal cruise departing Miami April 29 and arriving in Los Angeles May 15. The ship will then launch a summer program of week-long Glacier Bay and Glacier Route Alaska voyages…

At the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in October, Townsend Bay Marine (TBM) and Lürssen Yachts formally announced the business relationship that the companies forged quietly several months ago, when Lürssen became the majority shareholder in the Port Townsend, Washington-based shipyard. In addition to allowing the two firms to share technical expertise and resources, the alliance adds a composite shipbuilding component to Lürssen's unparalleled capabilities as well as providing customers with worldwide resources. In business for more than 125 years, Lürssen (www.lurssen.com) specializes in vessels up to 160 meters in length. Services include design, engineering, construction, repair and logistics as well as a complete training program.

A cruise ship hit by fire early Tuesday has been cleared to continue its voyage and was headed Wednesday to its final port of Seward, Alaska, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam, a ship with nearly 1,200 passengers and 542 crew members, departed Bartlett Cove in southeast Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park late Tuesday after investigators began their probe of the fire, the Coast Guard said. No one was seriously injured in the blaze, which occurred in crew quarters and was put out within 45 minutes. However, one passenger was evacuated from the ship after becoming disoriented and suffering a head injury, the Coast Guard said. The cause of the fire was still unknown Wednesday, said Coast Guard Lt. Troy Dixon of the agency's marine safety office in Juneau.

A fire broke out aboard a Dutch cruise ship carrying nearly 1,700 passengers and crew as it steamed through Glacier Bay National Park last Tuesday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard said. No one was seriously injured. The fire aboard the Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam was reported at 9:40 a.m. and doused within 45 minutes, the Coast Guard said. The blaze was confined to the rear section of the ship, in the crew quarters and below the main passenger deck. One person sustained minor injuries that were attributed to the fire. "A passenger was disoriented, fell and hit his head," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Mitchell Fletcher. A four-person team…