Genting News

An international maritime charity based in Germany has unveiled a new ship to promote literacy, education and cross-cultural cooperation across Southeast Asia.The vessel, Doulos Hope, is the fifth in GBA Ships’ fleet, recently launched following a technical refit and outfitting. At 85.5 meters long and 14 meters wide, with a gross tonnage of 3,370 grt and a maximum speed of 13.5 knots, the vessel is the first of a planned fleet designed to reach new regions and operate in shallower waters…

Disney Cruise Line has announced plans to acquire and complete the unfinished cruise ship previously known as Global Dream. The 208,000-gross-ton ship, which was originally being built by the now bankrupt MV Werften shipyard in Wismar, Germany for insolvent parent company Genting Hong Kong's Dream Cruises, has been sitting incomplete as the shipyard's liquidator sought a buyer. The Walt Disney Company's cruise subsidiary on Thursday confirmed plans to acquire the vessel and have it completed at the former MV Werften yard under the management of the Meyer Group…

A luxury cruise ship has skipped its call to Miami and diverted to the Bahamas after a U.S. judge ordered its seizure as part of a lawsuit over unpaid fuel bills.The Crystal Symphony, operated by Genting Hong Kong's Crystal Cruises, was scheduled to conclude a Caribbean voyage in Miami on Saturday, but the ship sailed to the Bahamian island of Bimini instead after a federal judge in Miami granted an order to arrest the 781-foot, Bahamas-flagged vessel over unpaid fuel bills.Bunker supplier Peninsula Petroleum Far East sued the ship and Crystal Cruises…

A German court will rule next week in a case brought by Genting Group against a German regional government after a row over funding for cruise shipbuilder MV Werften, which filed for insolvency on Monday.Genting, led by Malaysian tycoon Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, bought MV Werften in 2016. The pandemic has hit the global travel industry, including cruise operators and led to production stops at shipyards that build cruise ships.Genting's subsidiary Genting Hong Kong said on Tuesday…

A Genting Cruise Lines ship on a "cruise to nowhere" has returned to Singapore after a confirmed case of COVID-19 in a passenger, and the nearly 3,000 passengers and crew on board were confined to their cabins through most of Wednesday.The 40-year-old passenger tested positive onboard and the result was confirmed after the person was taken to hospital once the ship docked early on Wednesday, the Singapore Tourism Board said, following the detection of the suspected case."The passenger was identified as a close contact of a confirmed case on land…

Singapore currently accounts for a third of the world’s cruises its tourism body said on Wednesday, owing to the roaring success of its “cruises to nowhere” at a time of crisis in the industry globally.Cruises have yet to restart in many parts of the world after taking a beating from the coronavirus pandemic, with some of the earliest big outbreaks found on cruise ships.The city-state launched what it called “round trips” on luxury liners in November, which have no port of call and last only a few days.

In early 2021, the somber news from the cruise sector continued. For some cruise brands, their own version of “lockdowns” will have spanned an entire year. By late January, 2021, Carnival and others were hesitantly pegging their restarts for April/May 2021, and for some markets, late summer, under a Conditional Sail Order promulgated late last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).What else to do but look ahead?In preliminary earnings guidance, Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL)…

German shipbuilder MV Werften has said it has secured a 193 million euro loan from the German government to complete the new polar class luxury expedition ship Crystal Endeavor and to keep the shipyard in operation till March 2021. As reported back in April, Genting's Crystal Cruises announced the Crystal Endeavor's launch would be delayed due to the temporary closure of the MV Werften shipyards during the COVID-19 pandemic.The 164-meter, 20,000-gross-ton Crystal Endeavor was…

Taiwan resumed an island-hopping ocean cruise on Sunday, joining a handful of places in the world to restart voyages after the coronavirus pandemic brought the industry to a virtual standstill.Some 900 holiday makers are adapting to new safety measures when boarding Genting Hong Kong’s Explorer Dream embarking from Taiwan’s northern Keelung port. The company now offers trips of up to five days from Taiwan to its scenic outlying islands of Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.The cruise resumption is part of a government effort to boost a tourism industry badly hit by the pandemic.

Genting Cruise Lines said it will be the first international cruise company to restart operations with the deployment of Dream Cruises’ Explorer Dream to Taiwan, where it will begin “Taiwan Island-Hopping” itineraries on July 26 2020.Upon the ship’s arrival in Keelung on June 40, 2020, Explorer Dream underwent a thorough deep cleaning in accordance with EU standard, in addition to her crew immediately beginning amandatory 14-day quarantine on land.Read a recent interview with Captain Havard Ramsoy…

While COVID-19 has proven to be the biggest business disruption event in generations, for the once-booming cruise shipping industry it has meant a hard stop. Getting back to cruising will be neither fast nor easy. We reached out to Captain Havard Ramsoy, Vice President, Marine Operations and Safety, Genting Cruise Lines for insights on the path forward.Please give an overview of the Genting Cruise Ship fleet today, and COVID-19 and its impact on the Genting Cruise business.Throughout the unprecedented suspension of the global cruise passenger services due the COVID-19 situation…

As the maritime world collectively feels its way forward in a time now defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizers of the SMM in Hamburg, traditionally the world's largest and most influential maritime and shipbuilding trade event, share market overview insights on the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic throughout the the shipping industry.The Covid-19 pandemic has turned the world economy on its head. “The recession this year will likely be more severe, and recovery in 2021 will be slower than we anticipated two months ago…

Classification society DNV GL launched a custom infection prevention certification aiming to help the maritime industry resume operations better prepared for COVID-19 or other emerging pathogens. Genting Cruise Lines is the first customer working toward the CIP-M certification for its cruise ship Explorer Dream under the Dream Cruises brand.As the coronavirus crisis begins to recede and the world begins moving to return to business, the cruise industry is sharpening its already strong focus on passenger health and safety.

Genting's Crystal Expedition Cruises announced the launch of its new polar class luxury expedition ship Crystal Endeavor will be delayed due to the temporary closure of the MV Werften shipyards during the COVID-19 pandemic.The 164-meter, 20,000-gross-ton Crystal Endeavorc is currently berthed in MV Werften's Stralsund yard for final outfitting and was due to enter service in August before the shipbuilder in mid-March announced a four-week pause on operations at its locations in Wismar, Rostock and Stralsund due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Singapore is assessing whether migrant workers who have recovered from coronavirus might be safer on cruise ships than back in dormitories that have become infection hotbeds, despite problems controlling onboard outbreaks encountered elsewhere.The city-state has seen virus cases surge in sprawling housing complexes for foreign laborers, recording its biggest ever jump in cases on Thursday, and is looking for new accommodation solutions for hundreds of workers.Around 60% of the 4…

The maritime software, services and data analysis provider NAPA has announced the signing of a new contract with the northernmost year-round ferry, Wasaline, for its newbuilding Aurora Botnia.When it launches in 2021 the Aurora Botnia will be the world’s first LNG/LBG battery ship with pods under the vehicle deck, as well as the world’s most environmentally friendly RoPax vessel.Under the agreement, NAPA will provide Wasaline with its industry benchmark software applications, NAPA Emergency Computer, which delivers unmatched integrated emergency decision support, and NAPA Loading Computer, which optimizes vessel load while minimizing stress and safety risk.NAPA Loading Computer and NAPA Emergency Computer have been approved by all major classification societies.Peter Ståhlberg…

Genting Hong Kong’s six ‘Universal Class’ ships will sport ABB power, propulsion and digital solutions, a  $175 deal for million contract to supply for the industrial giant.The six 286-m ships will be built at MV Werften, shipyards owned by Genting, for delivery in 2023-2024. Each will be outfitted with twin ABB Azipod electric propulsion units, delivering a combined power of 30 MW (40,230 HP), fueled by LNG.The Azipod propulsion system, where the electric drive motor is in a submerged pod outside the ship hull, can rotate 360 degrees to increase maneuverability and operating efficiency.

Genting Hong Kong and its Hong Kong–German shipbuilding group, MV Werften, announced a new Universal Class of cruise ships targeted at customers outside of Genting's cruise brand portfolio of Dream, Crystal and Star.The keel-laying of the second 208,000 gross ton Global Class ship for Dream Cruises took place December 10 at MV WERFTEN in Rostock.The midship section of the Global Class ship is being produced in Rostock. The transfer of the first 160,000 gross ton midship section for the first Global Class ship – the Global Dream – from Rostock to the covered dock of Wismar was completed only two weeks ago.At 235m long and 20 decks high…

Cruise operator Genting Hong Kong (GHK) said that its unit Dream Cruises has launched the construction of the second Global Class cruise ship at German shipbuilder MV Werften  in Rostock-Warnemünde.“Production of Dream Cruises’ second Global Class ship commenced at MV Werften in Rostock-Warnemünde today, almost exactly a year after the keel laying of the flagship of the series," said Genting Hong Kong’s Chairman and CEO Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay while initiating at the press of a button the first steel cutting for the 342m long, 46m wide, 208,000 gross ton cruise vessel.“We are delighted that our comprehensive investments at the three shipyard…

While nothing lasts forever, the cruise industry – and particularly the ‘expedition’ cruise sector – remain on a historic run with no indication of a near-term slowdown.The leisure travel sector, of which expedition cruising is a part, offers numerous possibilities for delivering new “experiences” unlike industrial shipping businesses (or even conventional ferry and passenger transport), which can only grow as fast as the demand in a particular sector.Though there is no precise definition of “expedition”…

KfW IPEX-Bank, leading a consortium consisting of six international banks, is structuring the financing of two cruise ships for Genting Hong Kong Ltd. and its brand Dream Cruises.The Global Class I and II ships are currently being built in the three shipyards of MV Werften located on the Baltic Coast in the German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.The financing package comprises around EUR 2.6 billion with a total investment volume of just under EUR 3.1 billion.The structure will be backed by export credit guarantees of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Finnish export credit agency Finnvera, as well as by a guarantee from the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Genting Hong Kong, a member of the Malaysian Genting Group, has reached an agreement to sell a 35% stake in global cruise ship company Dream Cruises to Canada’s TPG Darting, which is owned by TPG Capital Asia and Growth Funds.The company said the deal would strengthen its balance sheet as well as its ability to continue to expand its fleet in the cruise industry.The consideration for the 35% equity interest is US$489 million, valuing Dream Cruises total equity at US$1,397 million. With assumption of net debt of US$1,871 million, the enterprise value of the transaction is US$3,268 million. The transaction will result in a gain of approximately US$470 million…

The installation of decking solutions from Dutch company Bolidt aboard one of the largest cruise ships ever to be built in Germany has received a royal seal of approval, after King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands witnessed a contract signing at the Rostock facilities of yard group MV Werften. The agreement, formalized during a trade delegation visit, provides for Bolidt to supply a total of 17,000m2 of its innovative synthetic systems to the first Global class cruise ship for Hong Kong-based Genting Group’s Dream Cruises…