The Swiss engineering group ABB has announced an order to power the new Virgin Voyages fleet. Each of the three 110,000 gross tons cruise ships will be equipped with ABB systems including the ABB propulsion, as well as it's electric generators and remote control systems for maneuvering. Virgin Voyages vessels will be equipped with two Azipod XO units, a combined propulsion power of 32 MW (43,000 HP).
During the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020, Princess cruise ship will serve as a floating hotel to ease a shortage of accommodations. The 260 meters long vessel Sun Princess, with a maximum capacity of 2272 guests, plus crew will be docked at Yokohama Port during 2020 Olympic Games. Sun Princess will be chartered by the Japanese Travel conglomerate - JTB during a period of 19 days.
Norwegian Coast Guard started testing drones in order to detect sulfur emission levels from cruise ships arriving in the Norwegian fjords. The new method of monitoring the sulfur level is conducted by state of the art Lockheed Martin Indago drone with a price tag of $123.000.The specially made sensor, developed by the Danish company Explicit, provides detailed measurements of sulfur content in the exhaust. Everything is transferred wirelessly to the controller in real time.
FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 is currently in full swing, and fans from all across the world have come in to support their national teams. Most of them have spent hours on multiple planes just to get to eleven host cities. However, Russia biggest port city Saint Petersburg, is unique, with fans also arriving on cruise ships to see the FIFA World Cup matches at Krestovsky Stadium.
Holland America Line celebrated the International Sushi Day, by creating the Largest Sushi Roll at Sea made by Culinary Council Member Andy Matsuda while he sailed aboard the cruise ship MS Koningsdam on a special Food & Beverage Aficionado Cruise in Norway. Dubbed the "World Mega Roll," the sushi roll measured 49 feet long (15 meters) before getting rolled, 3.3 feet (100 centimeters) wide and used 70 pounds of sushi rice.
MSC Cruises announced the expansion of its fleet with a fourth cruise ship order by the company. With three ships being simultaneously built in the shipyard at Saint Nazaire, the world’s largest privately owned cruise line announced the order of the fifth Meraviglia class vessel. The new order signed by MSC and STX France will be adding a 900 million euros investment from nearly 11,000 million already announced by the shipping company in its ten-year investment plan.
The expansion in the cruise global market has led passengers to find new destinations by choosing to travel to unexplored marine areas. However, in some regions, there are no suitable points of supply for ships with the necessary equipment for their uninterrupted operation.
Royal Caribbean Cruises is buying a majority stake in luxury rival Silversea Cruises for $1 billion. The agreement was announced today by Royal Caribbean and majority owner of Silversea Manfredi Lefebvre D'Ovidio, to acquire a majority stake in the privately-owned Silversea Cruises. With this deal, worth $2 billion including debt, Royal Caribbean will take a 67 percent stake in Silversea Cruises.
The cruise ship employee who was the subject of a missing person alert after he failed to return back onboard Norwegian Pearl was located by Victoria police, and he is safe. Lloyd Takana age 36, was reported missing on June 2, when he disembarked while the cruise ship was in Victoria, British Columbia.
The Italian Police arrested a man who was working as a contractor on the latest MSC cruise ship, MSC Seaview for a theft of merchandise worth 9.000 Dollars. The 30-year-old man, a Romanian national living in the Italian municipality of Ronchi dei Legionari was found in possession of the stolen goods, most of them brand watches, that he had stolen from one of the stores onboard MSC Seaview.
