Caribbean News

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Florida officials to open an Atlantic Coast port to a Dutch cruise ship stuck at sea with a deadly coronavirus outbreak onboard, urging the governor to drop his opposition.Weighing in on the fate of Holland America Line’s MS Zaandam during a White House briefing, Trump said he would call Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has declared the vessel unwelcome to prevent its sick passengers from being “dumped” on his state.“They’re dying on the ship…

Four of Carnival Corp’s cruise lines said on Monday they would extend the suspension of all voyages by a month to May due to the coronavirus crisis that has worsened over the past few weeks.The brands - Holland America Line, Carnival and luxury cruise ship operators Seabourn and Cunard - together operate 49 ships.Carnival Corp, also the operator of two coronavirus-stricken Princess cruises, has already temporarily suspended several of its ships due to concerns over the rapidly spreading COVID-19 crisis earlier this month.“The impact of COVID-19 is affecting personal routines and businesses as

Three large crude carriers (VLCCs) chartered by units of Russian oil major Rosneft to transport Venezuelan oil left Caribbean waters empty on Saturday after the cargoes were canceled due to sanctions, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and a document from Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA.The vessels - which would jointly export some 5.7 million barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude to Asia - had waited for weeks near Venezuelan waters to load, but the cargoes were canceled this week due to sanctions on PDVSA and Rosneft's trading units…

The discount on front-month Brent crude oil futures to later contracts increased to an 11 year high on Thursday, as the coronavirus pandemic continued to cause an unprecedented slump in global demand. The spread on the May to November contracts had widened to as much as minus $10.31 per barrel at 1004 GMT, a level not seen since January 2009. The so-called contango market structure implies traders expect oil prices to be higher in the future, in this case when the virus pandemic has hopefully passed, leading them to store crude onshore or in some cases at sea.

The U.S. Coast Guard medically evacuated the Captain of the 734-foot Singapore-flagged containership M/V Maersk Batam, approximately 100 nautical miles south of Puerto Rico, Monday night.The containership captain, a U.K. citizen, was experiencing life threatening symptoms of a possible stroke during the ship’s transit from St. Marta, Colombia to their next scheduled port call in Southhampton, England.Coast Guard Sector San Juan watchstanders received the medevac request at 9:55 a.m.

At least two cargoes of Venezuelan crude have been delayed due to health inspections aboard tankers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to an internal document from state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela seen by Reuters.The delays add to a growing glut of tankers loaded with Venezuelan crude that preceded the coronavirus crisis as U.S. sanctions spooked potential customers. With domestic onshore oil inventories approaching capacity, PDVSA has been increasingly…

Passengers who have tickets to travel back to their home countries will be allowed to disembark from the coronavirus-hit Costa Luminosa cruise ship in Marseille, the port authority and the cruise operator said on Thursday.A port official told Reuters that 639 passengers, including 187 French nationals, would be allowed to leave the ship in small groups, depending on the timing of their transport home.There were more than 1,420 passengers on the liner, including 230 Americans, 168 Italians and 100 Canadians…

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said that major cruise lines would suspend cruises for 30 days, following a series of industry announcements that came after repeated transmission of coronavirus among passengers at sea.“At my request, effective midnight tonight, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and MSC have all agreed to suspend outbound cruises for thirty days,” Trump said on Twitter.“It is a great and important industry – it will be kept that way!” he added.Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd said earlier on Friday it was suspending its cruises in the United States for 30 days…

Health authorities in the southern Vietnamese city of Ho Chi Minh want to stop a Bahamas-flagged cruise ship with Italians on board from docking at the economic hub on Friday over coronavirus concerns, state media reported.The Health Department on Thursday advised the People's Committee of the city not to allow passengers on the cruise liner, Silver Spirit, to disembark, the Tuoi Tre newspaper said.The department said the move is aimed at "limiting the intrusion of disease into the city"…

When it come to ship efficiency and emission reduction, the next frontier is devising better means to keep hulls clean from biofouling in the five years between dry dockings. Finding best solutions on hull coating and cleaning is major point of focus among shipping majors globally.Last month in a feature interview in Maritime Reporter & Engineering News with Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCCL) Anshul Tuteja, Associate VP Global Fleet Optimization, it was made clear that coatings used on the RCCL fleet is a point of intense focus…

Konecranes and Chantiers de l’Atlantique, a shipyard in St. Nazaire, France, have signed a contract for the delivery of a Konecranes Goliath gantry crane. It will handle large ship blocks and panels over the dry dock, playing a leading role in ship assembly at the shipyard. The order was booked in the fourth quarter of 2019.The Konecranes Goliath crane will be delivered with the cooperation of both parties. It will be manufactured in Europe by Konecranes in its entirety. The crane assembly on-site and the erection work will be done in cooperation between the shipyard and Konecranes.

Shom, the French national hydrographic and oceanographic office selected SBG Systems’ inertial navigation sytems to renew their whole fleet of INS. They chose Navsight Apogee INS for their speedboats and survey vessels for both shallow and deep-water real-time bathymetric surveys and Qinertia PPK software for post-processing tasks.Shom has 3 major objectives: national hydrography and cartography, defense support in hydro-oceanographic fields, and support in maritime geospatial products and services for public policies on the sea and the coast.

The United States is considering ways to discourage U.S. travelers from taking cruises as part of a broader Trump administration effort to limit the spread of coronavirus, according to four officials familiar with the situation.The officials, who asked to remain anonymous, said no decision had been made. The discussions were taking place ahead of a meeting this weekend between Vice President Mike Pence, who is in charge of leading the U.S. response to the coronavirus, and the cruise industry.The administration could advise some or all U.S.

Longtime cruise industry executive Adam Goldstein has left Royal Caribbean Cruises after more than 30 years with the company.Goldstein was most recenlty Vice Chairman of RCL from 2018. From 2014 to 2018, he served as President & COO and from 2007 to 2014, he was President & CEO of the Royal Caribbean International brand. Goldstein has been with RCL since 1988.Goldstein will continue to serve as Chair of the trade group Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).

Shares of U.S. cruise operators sunk on Thursday after the Grand Princess ocean liner, owned by Carnival Corp, was barred from returning to its home portof San Francisco on coronavirus fears after at least 20 people aboard fell ill.Shares of Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean Cruises fell between 9% and 12% amid a broader sell-off in U.S. stock markets.Two passengers that were on a previous cruise on the ship had contracted the virus, one of whom died in died in California.In response…

I’ve had the good fortune to work with marine operators around the world, and one thing has become painfully apparent to me; most marine companies don’t appreciate the profound affect technology can have on their organizations. Information technology can save lives, increase profitability, improve customer satisfaction, and even keep you in business.Some may think this is crazy talk from a Kool-Aid drunk techy, or that I need a vacation, but I assure you, it’s modern reality.

The Russian captain and crew of a cargo ship captured last year in Cape Verde with the biggest cocaine haul ever seized in the country were found guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced to jail on Friday.The 9.5 tonnes of cocaine were seized in February 2019 after the ship, which was traveling to Morocco from South America, docked at the port of Praia for legal reasons following the death of a crew member.An Atlantic archipelago of 500,000 people off Africa’s west coast, Cape…

U.S. refiner Citgo said the Gerd Knutsen oil tanker, which had been carrying crude claimed by both the company and Venezuelan parent PDVSA, departed Venezuela's Jose Terminal on Thursday and entered international waters on Friday morning.The tanker over the past week discharged its 1 million barrel cargo, worth some $57 million, in Venezuela after being stranded for over a year off the South American country's coast amid fallout over U.S. sanctions on PDVSA, designed to force out socialist President Nicolas Maduro.The tanker discharged after Citgo…

KVH Industries, Inc., announced that AgilePlans Connectivity as a Service (CaaS) is now available as a regional offering using KVH’s ultra-compact, 37 cm TracPhone V3-HTS antenna. With data speeds as fast as 5 Mbps down/2 Mbps up, the TracPhone V3-HTS is designed to enable fishing vessels, workboats, and smaller commercial vessels to leverage fast and reliable Internet connectivity. The service includes new rate plans with no overage charges.The AgilePlans Regional service complements the AgilePlans Global service…

There’s a barge full of reasons why many operators turn to ATBs.A  mainstay of the U.S. coastwise dirty and refined products trades, articulated tug barges (ATB) have increasingly filled a void left as the fleet of Jones Act tankers (with crew complement requirements exceeding that of tugs) has aged out. With the cargo capacity of the larger ATBs – some with barges exceeding 300,000 barrels capacity – rivalling that of workhorse tankers that had served oil consuming regions, the concept certainly makes sense from a supply and distribution perspective.With 50…

British entrepreneur Richard Branson heralded his first cruise ship "Scarlet Lady" on Friday as targeting a younger generation of holidaymakers with a range of attractions that he believes will outweigh any fears around coronavirus.Despite the unfortunate timing, with passengers on one ship quarantined in Japan after hundreds caught the virus and another turned away by five countries over fears someone on board may be ill, Branson sees cruises as a growth area.In an event at Dover…

Offshore marine transportation firm Harvey Gulf International Marine says it has been able to achieve success in the turbulent offshore market by constantly reinvented itself to fit the industry demands.Never afraid to shake things up, Harvey Gulf has maintained this mindset throughout its 70-year-history, says CEO Shane Guidry. “From a humble beginning of a three oyster fishing vessels used as supply vessels in 1949 to a larger fleet of offshore vessels that towed barges and drilling rigs to its modern day evolution of a fleet of offshore supply…

London-based international law firm Watson Farley & Williams has advised TUI Cruises GmbH on its acquisition of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises from TUI AG for US$1.3bn, excluding net debt.According to the the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to close in summer 2020. The deal includes the acquisition of HL Cruises’ luxury and expedition fleet, consisting of two five-star plus luxury vessels and three expedition cruise ships, by TUI Cruises.