Today the French court imposed a €100,000 fine to the captain of a cruise ship for using fuel with high sulphur levels in the port of Marseille, the first such ruling in France.
The prosecution was intended by authorities to signal that they are serious in tackling pollution from cruise ships after they found a higher level of sulphur during a check on the vessel P&O Azura.
A staff member was reported missing from the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Adventure of the Seas.
Princess Cruises theatrical show "Fantastic Journey," with its elaborate costumes and state-of-the-art multimedia technology was honored with the prestigious Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement. The official recognition was at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo in Orlando.
The food prepared on board the Costa cruise ships not served to the guests from now on will be distributed to the ones who need it the most. The Spanish organization “Banc dels Aliments” and Costa Cruises signed an agreement for the food surplus to be distributed, among different NGOs in Barcelona.
Around midnight on November 20, the Italian cruise ship Costa Luminosa, sailing to the port of Katakolo, Greece received a request for intervention by the Greek Coast Guard Center in Piraeus. The SOS signal was sent by the Turkish cargo ship “Kilic 1” who was in serious trouble due to fire on board.
A horrible tragedy occurred during a dry dock refurbishment of the cruise ship Le Boreal in the port of Valparaiso, Chile on November 19, resulting in the death of a young crew member. The authorities say that the crew member died in the early morning hours after he slipped from a ladder placed on the ship's deck and fell 23 meters on the dock. The young man was identified as Andrei Madalin Circhea, age 25 from Constanta, Romania working as electronics engineer.
On Sunday, November 18, NCL cruise ship Norwegian Jade experienced major technical problems while in the port of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The vessel will not be able to continue the scheduled 10 days Caribbean cruise and all passengers will get a full refund. The captain has announced that due to mechanical issues all passengers will have to disembark and fly home by Tuesday. Norwegian Cruise Line will take care of the costs of airfare, and is providing a future cruise credit to all who are onboard.
Spanish media are reporting that on November 15, police in the port of La Coruna arrested three cruise ship passengers who were smuggling 17 kilos of cocaine.
Greek authorities arrested a Turkish family at the Port of Katakolon (Olympia), who was sailing on a cruise ship with fake passports.
A International military force of warships, fighter jets, and elite counterterrorism units will guard the delegates during the APEC Summit held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Due to a shortage of hotel accommodations PNG government has chartered 3 cruise ships to be used as floating hotels guarded by a force of 4,000 international military personnel.
