Caribbean News

Malta Freeport Terminals welcomed the first ever LNG-powered container ship to visit Malta during the course of the vessel’s maiden voyage from Asia to Rotterdam.Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi, whose portfolio includes the Freeport Authority visited this ship to mark this special event.The mv Containerships Polar, operated by a subsidiary of leading shipping line CMA CGM, discharged over 560 containers during its call to Malta. Containerships Polar is the second in a series of…

Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest luxury cruise operator, emitted nearly 10 times more sulphur oxide (SOX) around European coasts than did all  260 million European cars in 2017,  said Transport & Environment.Royal Caribbean Cruises, the world’s second largest, is second, yet four times worse than the European car fleet, revealed a new analysis by sustainable transport group.SOX emissions form sulphate (SO4) aerosols that increase human health risks and contribute to acidification in terrestrial and aquatic environments.In absolute terms…

Cruise operator Royal Caribbean International (RCL),  Finnish technology major Wärtsilä, and DNV GL announced that Navigator of the Seas, the Voyager-class cruise, will feature the industry's first fire prevention notation.Even though great strides have been taken in detecting, containing and extinguishing fires, the best time to fight a fire is before it starts.The desire to work towards a zero-fire engine room led cruise operator RCL, technology group Wärtsilä, and classification society DNV GL to initiate a joint industry project to improve engine room fire prevention.Since 2016…

Designed for heavy duty propulsion and genset applications, Volvo Penta has revealed a D8 engine and after treatment system that meets the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Tier III at the Nor-Shipping international exhibition and conference in Norway.Volvo Penta is launching a new D8 engine and after-treatment concept to comply with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Tier III standards. The IMO Tier III regulation will stipulate a reduction in nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted of around 75 per cent – depending on engine size – when compared to current IMO Tier II levels.

Bunker One (Gulf of Mexico) SA announced the newest addition to its Offshore US Gulf and Caribbean fleet, M/T Waltz.The physical supplier, that is now one of the largest suppliers in the Caribbean, has commenced operations in Freeport from 1 June.Henceforth, this provides vessels sailing outbound from the US Gulf to Europe, longhaul markets in Asia and elsewhere, a very attractive refueling option.The M/T Waltz will inaugurate Bunker One’s entry as a physical supplier to Freeport Bahamas supplying at Outer anchorage and Freeport Offshore…

BP Trinidad and Tobago LLC has awarded Vroon Offshore Services Aberdeen a multiple year, multi-million pound contract.Vroon said on Monday that BP had hired three emergency rescue and response vessels (ERRVs) from its subsidiary, Vroon Offshore Services Aberdeen.The North Sea’s largest operator of ERRVs said that it will provide three specialist vessels to support BP’s operations in the Caribbean: the VOS Gorgeous, the VOS Fabulous and the VOS Grace.Dedicated to supporting offshore operations 24/7 365 days a year…

Norway on Jan. 1, 2026, will begin a ban on cruise ships powering through the Unesco-listed heritage fjords on anything but zero-emissions propulsion. For now, that means battery power, but few of the 190 cruise ship calls to these fjords are made with that kind of electro-chemical fuel on board. From now until 2026, you can still cruise the fjords on a closed-loop, or in-line, scrubber system, but few cruise ships have these installed. The new rules mean cruising elsewhere, finding…

The Gazprom Neft bunkering business Gazpromneft Marine Bunker has concluded new agreements with cruise operators Royal Caribbean International and Saga Cruises.Gazpromneft Marine Bunker will be managing approximately 60 bunkering operations for Royal Caribbean and Saga cruise liners during the summer navigation season (May—September 2019) at St Petersburg’s Marine Façade passenger port.Total sales of marine fuels under these contracts are expected to be in the order of 55,000…

Hamburg Süd christened the Polar Ecuador containership in Antwerp.The new vessel belongs to a group of four structurally identical vessels in the Polar class that have been built for Hamburg Süd by the Chinese shipyard Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding. With a total length of 230 meters and a width of 37.30 meters, the ship offers a container storage capacity of 3,800 TEU and is equipped with 1,000 reefer plugs.The Polar Ecuador is deployed in Hamburg Süd’s North Europe – Mexico/Caribbean service (EMCS)…

The trade between Europe and Central America, Caribbean and South America West Coast has always been a key element in the container liner shipping line Hamburg Süd’s global network of liner services.In cooperation with Maersk, Hamburg Süd will be expanding and enhancing the services it offers on this core trade beginning in June 2019.“Combining the strengths of Hamburg Süd and Maersk, we can offer our customers a best in class stand-alone service configuration without having to depend on vessel sharing agreements with other shipping companies…

The Caribbean Country of Saint Kitts and Nevis is the latest country to benefit from International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s work promoting good maritime governance practice – through a National Maritime Transport Policy (NMTP) workshop, underway in Basseterre (14-16 May).The event brought together participants from over 30 institutions, including ministries, State and stakeholder agencies to work towards a policy to help achieve the maritime vision of Saint Kitts and Nevis.Creating a NMPT policy will help the country’s maritime transport sector to be governed in a coordinated…

A new IMO video puts the spotlight on how an IMO/EU initiative is helping cut maritime emissions in the Solomon Islands as part of a global project to help tackle climate change.When the solar-powered LED lights go on at night in the port of Honiara, Solomon Islands, they are helping the port meet IMO maritime security requirements.But these lights are also a shining example of how a global project, through regional centers, can help individual countries' ports and shipping sectors improve energy efficiency, cut emissions and clean up local air quality.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has launched a joint project with Norway to help the shipping industry cut emissions by at least 50 percent from 2008 levels by 2050, the UN's shipping agency said on Monday.The Norwegian government is providing 10 million NOK ($1.1 million) for the first two years of the GreenVoyage-2050 project, and additional funding subject to government approval for 2020 and subsequent years.The scheme aims to bolster government and port efforts to achieve emissions cuts through legal and policy reforms, national action plans, private sector partnerships and n

Cruise Ship Interiors Expo, a focused event dedicated exclusively to interior design, architecture, and outfitting for the cruise industry,  announced its first conference session to kick off the inaugural two-day event. Professionals at the forefront of the industry will share their expertise in ‘Cruise Industry Outlook: Leaders Debate’, on Wednesday, June 19, 2019.This conference session will focus on the newbuild order book, discussing how shipyards can respond to capacity issues, challenges around recruiting staff, economical concerns, and growth in the expedition market.

The newest cruise ship in the Holland America Line fleet, the Nieuw Statendam, made its maiden call to the port of Amsterdam on Sunday, 5 May 2019.The second Pinnacle Class ship moored at the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam (PTA) and was welcomed with a water salute by Port of Amsterdam. Amsterdam will be the ship’s home port during the upcoming summer season.This was the maiden call for the ship that was christened by Oprah Winfrey in Ft. Lauderdale last February. A cruise ship’s maiden call to a port is traditionally accompanied by a plaque & key ceremony.Alma Prins-Droog…

Royal Caribbean International (RCI)'s Harmony of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas received a “royal” sendoff Monday as they sailed from their new homeport, Port Canaveral.Tugboats provided a water salute as a the 1,188-foot long Harmony, the second-largest cruise ship in the world, glided past hundreds of cheering spectators who gathered at Jetty Park for a “wave-out” event for the Port’s newest arrivals. Onlookers waved bandanas and some held up signs with large letters that…

Suriname is the latest country to benefit from International Maritime Organization (IMO) maritime security training.Participants at a workshop in Paramaribo, Suriname (7-8 May) took part in table-top contingency planning exercises involving a variety of maritime security issues.The UN boday said that these included threats to cruise ships, border security issues involving ports, airports and land border crossing, as well as potential incidents involving proliferation of weapons of mass destruction…

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises presented the Hanseatic nature for the first time in Hamburg on Saturday (May 04, 2019).The provider of adventure and classic cruising with luxury voyages to Polar Regions, Caribbean, Central America, Europe & more said that Hanseatic nature is the first of three, structurally- identical ships in the cruise line’s new expedition class. The ship left Hamburg on May 5, 2019 for its inaugural cruise, which will take it to the Hebrides, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands, finishing in Bergen.

Health officials for the Caribbean island of St. Lucia furnished 100 free doses of measles vaccine to a Church of Scientology cruise ship placed under quarantine in port after the highly contagious disease was diagnosed on board, the island's chief medical officer said on Thursday.St. Lucia health officials have confirmed one case of measles aboard the ship that has been docked in a port near the island nation's capital Castries since Tuesday, Dr. Merlene Frederick-James said…

Hamburg Süd christened the “Polar Mexico” container ship in the Mexican port of Veracruz on the weekend.The sponsor of the “Polar Mexico” is Claudia Dávila, wife of Carlos Ayala, Logistics and Distribution Director of Alpek Polyester, which is a subsidiary of the Alfa Group, one of the largest corporate groups in Mexico.The Mexican economy is strong in the fruit sector as well as in other industries with high import and export volumes, such as automobile manufacturing, chemicals and brewing.

The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT), an international trade seaport on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, set a new port record today with the arrival of the ZIM vessel Kota Pekarang, the largest container ship to ever call Jacksonville.The 11,923-TEU (container) vessel is operated by ZIM on a service offered by the 2M Alliance, comprised of Maersk, MSC, Hamburg Süd and strategic partners HMM and ZIM.The Kota Pekarang, which transited the Panama Canal from Northeast Asia before reaching the U.S.

At least 21 Venezuelans were missing after their boat sank on the way to the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, the U.N. refugee agency said on Friday, citing information from that country's coast guard.The boat, the “Jhonnaly Jose”, was carrying at least 25 people from the Venezuelan coastal town of Guiria when it capsized in the early hours of Wednesday, UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch told a regular U.N. briefing in Geneva."This tragic incident highlights the extreme risks of sea journeys and other irregular cross-border movements undertaken by refugees and migrants.

Royal Caribbean International (RCI) has celebrated the start of construction of its fifth Oasis class ship at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France."The first steel plate of a new Oasis-Class ship (hull 34)  has been cut today at Chantiers de l’Atlantique machining workshop. This ceremony marks symbolically the start of the construction of the third Oasis-class built by the shipyard, after Harmony of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas respectively delivered in 2016 and 2018…